| A | B |
|---|
| infection | a disease state resulting from the presence of pathogens in or on the body |
| pathogen | a disease producing microorganism |
| bacteria | the most significant and most commonly observed agents causing infections in health care institutions |
| aerobic bacteria | bacteria that require oxygen to live and grow |
| anerobic bacteria | bacteria that can live without oxygen |
| virus | the smallest of all microorganisms |
| normal flora | microorganisms that commonly inhabit various body sites and are part of the body's natural defense system |
| opportunists | bacteria that may potentially be harmful |
| inflammatory response | a protective mechanism that eliminates the invading pathogen and allows for tissue repair to occur |
| immune response | the specific reactions in the body as it responds to an invading foreign protein such as bacteria, or in some cases, even the body's own proteins |
| antigen | an invading foreign protein such as bacteria, or in some cases, the body's own proteins |
| antibody | the body's response to an antigen |
| incubation period | the interval between the invasion of the body by the pathogen and the appearance of symptoms of infection |
| prodromal stage | the stage in which a person is most infectious; early signs and symptoms of disease are present but or vague and nonspecific |
| full stage of illness | the stage in which the presents of specific signs and symptoms are determined by the type of infection |
| convalescent period | the state that represents recovery from the infection; the signs and symptoms disappear |
| nosocomial | an infection that is hospital acquired |
| exogenous | an infection in which the causative organism is acquired from other persons |
| endogenous | an infection in which the causative organism comes from microbial life the person himself harbors |
| iatrogenic | an infection which occurs as a result of a treatment or diagnostic procedure |
| fungi | a plant-like organism present in the air, soil, and water that can cause infection frequently resistant to treatment |
| vector | a nonhuman carries that tramsits organisms from one host to another |
| sterilization | the process by which all microorganisms, including spores, are destroyed |
| isolation | a protective procedure that limits the spread of infectious diseases among hospitalized clients, hospital personnel, and visitors |
| direct contact | involves close proximity between the susceptible |
| infectious agent | bacteria, viruses, and fungi |
| reservoir | natural habitat of the organism for growth and multiplication |
| portal of exit | point of escape for an organism from it's reservior |
| means of transmission | direct contact, indirect contact, vehicles, airborne routes, or vectors |
| portal of entry | point at which organism enters a host |
| susceptible host | a source that is acceptable and overcomes any resistance mounted by the host's defenses. |
| indirect contact | personal contact with an inanimate object, such as a contaminated instrument |
| vectors | nonhuman carriers that transmit organisms from one host to another |
| vehicles | contaminated blood, food, or inanimate objects |
| airborne route | spread through sneezing, coughing, and talking, or by droplet nuclei becoming attached to dust particles. |
