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==Work before penicillin==
[[Image:Lysozyme_crystal1.JPG|thumb|A single crystal of Lysozyme.]]
After the war Fleming looked for anti-bacterial agents because he had witnessed the death of many soldiers from septicemia. Unfortunately [[antiseptics]] killed the patient's immunological defences faster than they killed the invading bacteria. In an article in [[The Lancet]] during [[World War I]], Fleming described an ingenious experiment, which he was able to do due to his own glass blowing skills, which explained why antiseptics were killing more soldiers than the diseases themselves during WWI. Antiseptics worked well on the skin, but deep wounds had a tendency to shelter anaerobic bacteria, and antiseptics mainly seemed to remove beneficial agents that actually protected the patients in these cases. Sir [[Almroth Wright]] strongly supported Fleming's findings. Despite this, most army physicians during WWI continued to use antiseptics even in cases where this worsened the condition of the patients
In [[1922]], Fleming discovered [[lysozyme]], the "body's own antibiotic", and also that it has a weak anti-bacterial property.<ref>Fleming A. On a remarkable bacteriolytic element found in tissues and secretions. ''Proc Roy Soc Ser B'' 1922;93:306-17.</ref>
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