Preparing for surgery. Surgeon putting on sterile latex surgical gloves. He is already wearing a sterile gown, and will have washed his hands with a disinfecting soap. This helps to maintain the sterility of the gloves, which will be in direct contact with the surgical tools and with sterile areas inside the patient's body. High standards of hygiene must be maintained in the operating theatre to prevent potentially fatal infection of patients. Photographed in the UK.