Medicine has made many great strides in the past few centuries. The discovery of cells in the 1600s was a major step forward in science, and germ theory radically boosted sanitation in medical sites. Once it was known that bacteria cause illness (rather than demons or “bad air”), many countermeasures against disease became possible. This includes the act of sterilization, which is the thorough scouring of all pathogens from a solid object. While it is important to clean off any medical device such as a needle or scalpel, that alone does not get rid of all contaminants. Rather, sterilization is …