History of Autoclaves
Sterilizers are indispensable daily instruments in many scientific experiments and medical operations, but they are neglected in domestic museum collections and scientific history research. The invention and use of high-pressure steam sterilizers benefited from the development of western science and technology in the 19th century, and its popularity is also the result of industrial production, commercial operations and transnational trade.
Although scholars have proposed the hypothesis of the existence of microorganisms since the ancient times, it was not until the 19th century that the development of modern science proved the existence of microorganisms, making people realize that food spoilage, human infection and disease transmission are all caused by microorganisms. As a result of this understanding, various sterilization or disinfection methods based on modern microbiology were born and applied in scientific research, teaching experiments, medical operations and industrial production. Since then, the most important disinfection and sterilization methods are divided into physical and chemical methods, of which physical sterilization is the most widely used high temperature sterilization. Since the end of the 19th century, industrial production of sterilizers has a wide variety and rich styles. Among them, the most widely used and most effective is the autoclave, which is used to sterilize equipment, clothing and the environment in hospitals and scientific laboratories. An essential tool, as a utensil that has witnessed the history of sterilization technology and institutional changes.
