OPPONENT PROCESS THEORY explains it.
The opponent-process theory suggests that the way humans perceive colors is controlled by three opposing systems. We need four unique colors to characterize the perception of color: blue, yellow, red, and green. According to this theory, there are three opposing channels in our vision.
They are:
• blue versus yellow
• red versus green
• black versus white
In the operation theatre, surgeons continuously stare at the blood which causes desensitization of red cones(fatigued). As white light contains all the colors of the rainbow including red and green and as the surgeon's red cones are already fatigued so the red versus green opposing pathway in the brain signals “green”(AFTER EFFECT ILLUSION).So, to prevent these disturbing illusions they prefer green code in operation theatres so that these illusions get merged and looking at something green from time to time can keep someone’s eyes more sensitive to variations in red according to John Warner(a psychologist who studies vision at the University of California). The eye can better concentrate on the nuances of the human body.
Green used to be the color of medicine.
Where, how, when did it all start?
Green first appeared in a San Francisco hospital in 1914. Harry Sherman, an American surgeon, he felt traditional whites too bright, and the glare reduced his ability to discriminate anatomical features under scrutiny. Using color theory, he developed a “spinach green” environment, as the color complement to hemoglobin red and created an entirely green operating theatre, complete with green walls, floors, sheets, and towels. He discovered that his eyes could rest on the details of the wound.
Around the same time, green also entered hospital culture through “color therapy.” William Ludlow, an architect advocating color in hospitals, stated: “White is negative; the convalescent needs the therapeutic reaction of the positive colors that nature has spread so lavishly for her children. Our eyes were made to find rest and contentment in soft greens, pale blues, an occasional touch of red, but above all, the glorious golden yellow of the sunshine.”
GREEN MAY BE DOCTOR’S BEST BET!
REFERENCES:
1. Sherman H. The green operating room at St. Luke’s Hospital. Cal State J Med. 1914;21:181–83. 2. www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-afterimages/ 3. https://scienceline.org/2008/09/ask-locke-greenbluescrubs/ 4. Ludlow WO. Colour of the modern hospital. Mod Hosp. 192;16:511
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