Research on ways of fighting off bacteria intensified after the famous microbiologist, Louis Pasteur, who, in 1862, discovered that heating food products to a certain temperature prolonged their shelf life. In 1876, the first pressurized steam sterilizer, or autoclave, was created. Its creator and developer, Charles Chamberland, was a student and colleague of the French microbiologist, Louis Pasteur. The discovery of sterilization by heating and boiling in the second half of the 19th century allowed to dramatically reduce the mortality of patients.
During the Great Patriotic War, reusable glass medical syringes and small surgical instruments were processed in portable sterilizers. These devices were used in conjunction with primuses in field dressing stations, frontline and civilian hospitals.
Sterilization is an extremely important process for medical establishments, especially on the frontline during the war, when it is difficult to achieve sterile conditions. It is noteworthy that this method of destroying microorganisms is very simple and does not require special training, complex technical equipment or chemicals — clean water and a fire source is all it takes.
The exhibit was produced at the beginning of the 20th century by Aesculap — a German company that exists to this day and is one of the most famous manufacturers of medical equipment in Europe. The sterilizer consists of a container with a strainer tray and a lid. The sterilizer bears two AESCULAP stamps.
The exhibit has an interesting history: it belonged to a well-known family of doctors in Karelia, whose members included the bacteriologist Isaac Shif, who was the first bacteriologist and for a long time head of a school for paramedics and obstetricians in Petrozavodsk. In 1905, Shif participated in the Russo-Japanese War as a military doctor. After returning to Petrozavodsk, the doctor assumed the duties of the head of the paramedic school. After the evacuation from Petrozavodsk in August 1941, he became the head of the sanitary and bacteriological laboratory in Pudozh, and since 1943 — the head of the Karelo-Finnish State Sanitary and Bacteriological Laboratory. Thanks in no small part to Isaac Shif, the level of medicine on the Karelian Front during the war was very high.
