| A | B |
|---|
| AIDS | acquired immune deficiency sysdrome |
| aerobic | requiring oxygen to live and grow |
| airborn precautions | used for patients known or suspected to be infected with pathogens transmitted by airborne droplet nuclei |
| anaerobic | NOT requiring oxygen |
| antisepsis | aseptic control that inhibits, retards growth of, or kills pathogenic organisms (not effective against spores or viruses) |
| asepsis | being free from infection |
| autoclave | equipment used to sterilize articles using steam under pressure and/or dry heat |
| bacteria | one-celled organisms some of which are beneficial and some of which cause disease |
| bioterrorism | the use of biological agents such as pathogens for terrorist purposes |
| causative agent | a pathogen such as bacterium or virus that can cause a disease |
| cavitation | cleaning process employed in a ultrasonic unit (bubbles explode to drive cleaning solution onto article being cleaned) |
| chain of infection | factors that lead to the transmission or spread of disease |
| chemical disinfection | chemicals used for aseptic control ( most chemicals only disinfect but don't sterilize) |
| clean | free from organisms causing disease |
| communicable disease | disease that is transmitted from one individual to another |
| contact precautions | followed with patient known or suspected to be infected with microorganisms that can be spread rapidly from person to person by direct or indirect contact |
| contaminated | that which contains infection or infectious organisms or germs |
| disinfection | aseptic-control method that destroys pathogens but does not usually kill spores or viruses |
| droplet precautions | used for patients known or suspected to be infected with pathogens transmitted by large particle droplets expelled during couching, sneezing, talking or laughing |
| endogenous | infection or disease that originates WITHIN the body |
| epidemic | an infectious disease that affects a large number of people at the same time |
| exogenous | infection or disease that originates OUTSIDE or EXTERNAL TO the body |
| fomites | any substance or object that adheres to and transmits infectious material (door knob) |
| fungi | group of simple, planlike animals that live on dead organic matter (yeast and molds) |
| helminths | a parasitic worm (tapeworm or leech) |
| hepatitis B | inflammation of liver caused by HBV virus |
| hepatitis C | inflammation of liver caused by HCV virus |
| mocroorganism | small, living plant or animal not visible to naked eye; a microbe |
| mode of transmission | a way the causative agent can be transmitted to another reservoir or host where it can live |
| nonpathogens | a microorganism that is NOT capable of causing a disease |
| nosocomial | originating in a lealth care facility such as a hospital (the flu spread between the patients) |
| opportunistic infection | an infection that occurs withen the body's immune system cannot defend itself from pathogens normally found in the environment |
| pandemic | an infectious disease that affects many people WORLDWIDE |
| pathogens | disease-producing organisms |
| personal protetive equipment | includes mask, gown, gloves, & protective eyewear that help protect from contact with infectious material |
| portal of entry | a way for the causative agent to enter a new reservoir or host |
| portal of exit | a way for the causative agent to escape from the reservoir in which it has been growing |
| protective isolation | also called reverse isolation - technique to provide care to patients requiring protection from organisms in the environment |
| protozoa | microscopic, one-celled animals often found in decayed materials and contaminated water |
| reservoir | an area or object where the causative agent can live |
| rickettsiae | parasitic mocroorganisms that live on other living organisms |
| standard precautions | recommendations that must be followed to prevent transmission of pathogenic organisms by way of blood or body fluids |
| sterile | free of all organisms, including spores and viruses |
| steril field | an area set up for certain pr4ocedures that is free from all organisms |
| sterilization | process that results in total destruction of all microorganisms |
| susceptible host | a person likely to get an infection or disease because body defenses are weak |
| transmission-based isolation precautions | a method or technique of caring for patients who have communicable diseases |
| ultrasonic | equipment that cleans with sound waves |
| viruses | a large group of very small microorganisms, many of which cause disease |
