 Antifungals, also known as an antimycotics, are pharmaceutical fungicides used to treat and prevent mycosis (fungal infection).The widespread introduction of antiseptic surgical methods was initiated by the publishing of the paper "Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery" in 1867 by Joseph Lister, which was inspired by Louis Pasteur's germ theory of putrefaction.In this paper, Lister advocated the use of carbolic acid (phenol) as a method of ensuring that any germs present were killed.