Set of six test tubes with stand, used by Joseph Lister, United Kingdom, 1875-1878

Set of 6 test-tubes each with a glass cap, set upright in a test-tube stand made from wire and glass, used by Lister in his experiments on lactic fermentation, circa 1877

This set of six test tubes attached to a glass stand with wire was said to be made and used by Joseph Lister (1827-1912) in his experiments on lactic fermentation. Lister published his results in ‘On the lactic fermentation and its bearings on pathology’ in Transactions of the Pathological Society of London, vol. 29 (1878). Studying fermentation is important as it may give information about human diseases that have a similar process to fermentation, for instance, specific fevers. The test tubes, each with their own glass cap, contain plaster imitations of their original contents. The open test tubes were used to mimic open wounds. They are shown with a similar example (A641022).