No Sterilization or Anesthesia for Operations
In the 19th century, surgery was the stuff of nightmares. Doctors didn’t sterilize their instruments between patients, spreading infections with every incision. Germ theory wasn’t yet accepted, and hygiene wasn’t part of the medical routine.
Even worse: there was no effective anesthesia. Patients remained awake, often forcibly restrained, while enduring operations in excruciating pain. Truly medical horror.
