Question | Answer |
A microorganism that needs oxygen to live and grow | Aerobe |
A microorganism that grows best in the absence of oxygen | Anaerobe |
An agent that inhibits the growth of or kill microorganisms | Antiseptic |
Free from infection or pathogens | Asepsis |
Slender hairlike projections that constantly beat toward the outside to remove microorganisms from the body | Cilia |
To soil or make impure | Contaminate |
The use of physical or chemical means to remove, inactivate, or destroy pathogens on a surface or item to the point where they are no longer capable of transmitting infectious particles | Decontamination |
The process of cleansing or sanitizing the hands | Hand Hygiene |
The condition in which the body, or part of it, is invaded by a pathogen | Infection |
Practices that are employed to reduce the number and hinder the transmission of pathogens | Medical asepsis |
A microscopic plant of animal | Microorganism |
Skin that has a break in the surface | Nonintact skin |
A microorganism that does not normally produce disease | Nonpathogen |
An infection that results from defective immune system that cannot defend the body from pathogens normally found in the environment | Opportunistic infection |
The temp at which an organism grows best | Optimum growth temperature |
Taken into the body through piercing of the skin barrier or mucous membranes | Parenteral |
A disease-producing microorganism | Pathogen |
Relating to the period shortly before and after birth | Perinatal |
The degree to which a solution is acidic or basic | pH |
Treatment administered to an individual after exposure to an infectious disease to prevent disease | Postexposure prophylaxis |
Medical waste that poses a threat to health and safety | Regulated medical waste |
The organism that becomes infected by a pathogen and serves as a source of transfer of the pathogen to others | Reservoir host |
Harmless, nonpathogenic microorgansim that normally reside on the skin and usually do not cause disease | Resident flora |
Easily affected | Susceptible |
Microorganisms that reside on the superficial skin layers and are picked up in the course of daily activities | Transient flora |