| A | B |
|---|
| antiseptic | A substance that tends to inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms; may be used on humans. |
| asepsis | Free of pathogenic microoganisms |
| carrier | Person or animal who harbors and spreads an organism, causing disease in others but does not itself become ill. |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Federal agency that provides facilities and services for investigation, identification, prevention, and control of disease; headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia |
| contamination | Condition of being soiled, stained, touched, or otheerwise exposed to harmful agents by the entry of infectious or toxic material into a previously clean or sterile environment; making an object potentially unsafe for use as intended. |
| disinfection | Process by which pathogens, but not necessarilly their spores, are destroyed. |
| double bagging | Infection control practice of placing a bag of contaminated items into another bag that is clean and held outside the isolation room by a second staff member. |
| endogenous | Growing within the body; originating from within the body, or produced from intestinal causes, as a disease caused by the structural or functional failure of an organ or system. |
| exogenous | Outside the body; originating outside the body or produced from external causes, such as a disease caused by a bacterial or viral foreign tot he body. |
| fomite | Nonliving material, such as bed linens, stethoscope, needles, and many other objects that may host and transfer pathogenic microorganisms. |
| host | A person or group who, because of risk factors, may be susceptible to disease or illness; an organism in which another, usually parasitic, organism is nourished and harbored. |
| infection control | The policies and procedures of a hospital or other health care facility to minimize the risk of nosocomial or community-acquired infection spreading to patients or other members of the staff |
| medical asepsis | A group of techniques that inhibit the growth and spread of pathogenic microorganisms. Sometimes referred to as clean technique. |
| microorganisms | Any tiny (usually microscopic) entity capable of carrying on living processess; kinds of microorganisms include bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses; seen only by a microscope. |
| reservoir | Any natural habitat of a microorganism that promotes growth and reproduction. |
| spore | The reproduction cell of some microorganisms such as fungi or protozoa. These cells are highly resistant to heat and chemicals. Under proper environmental consitions they may revert to an actively multiplying form of bactrium such as gas gangrene ot tetanus |
| standard precautions | A set of guidelines set forth by the CDC to reduce the risk of transmission of bloodborne pathogens for moist body substances. These precautions promote handwashing and use of gloves, masks, eye protection, and gowns when appropriate for patient contact. These precautions are designed to reduce the risk of transmission of microorganisms from both recognized and unrecognized sources of infection. |
| sterilization | A process by which all microorganisms, including their spores, are destroyrd. |
| surgical asepsis | A group of techniques that destroy all microorganisms and their spores (sterile technique). |
| vector | A living carrier for transmission of microoganisms |
| vehicle | The means by which organisms are carried about. |
| virulent | Having the power to produce disease; of or pertaining to a very pathogenic or rapidly progressive condition. |
