Term | Definition |
abrasion | A wound in which the outer layers of the skin are damaged; a scrape. |
abscess | A collection of pus in a cavity surrounded by inflamed tissue. |
absorbable suture | Suture material that is gradually digested and absorbed by the body. |
approximation | The process of bringing two pats ,such as tissue, together through the use of sutures or other means. |
bandage | A strip of woven material used to wrap or cover a part of the body. |
biopsy | The surgical removal and examination of tissue from the living body. |
colposcope | A lighted instrument with a binocular magnifying lens used to examine the vagina and cervix. |
colposcopy | The visual examination of the vagina and cervix using a colposcope. |
contaminate | As it relates to sterile technique , to cause a sterile object or surface to become unsterile. |
contusion | An injury to the tissue under the skin that causes blood vessels to rupture, allowing blood to seep into the tissues , a bruise. |
cryosurgery | The therapeutic use of freezing temperatures to destroy abnormal tissue. |
exudate | A discharge produced by the body's tissue. |
fibroblast | An immature cell from which connective tissue can develop. |
forcepts | A two-pronged instrument for grasping and squeezing. |
furuncle | A localized staphylococal infection that originates deep within a hair follicle. Also known as a boil. |
hemostasis | The arrest of bleeding by natural or artificial means. |
incision | A clean cut caused by a cutting instrument. |
infection | The condition in which the body, or part of it, is invaded by a pathogen. |
infiltration | The process by which a substance passes into and is deposited within the substance of a cell, tissue, or organ. |
inflammation | A protective response of the body to trauma and the entrance of foreign matter. |
laceration | A wound in which the tissues are torn apart, leaving ragged and irregular edges. |
ligate | To tie off and close a structure such as a severed blood vessel. |
local anesthetic | A drug that produces a loss of feeling and an inability to perceive pain in only a specific part of the body. |
mayo tray | A broad, flat, metal tray placed on a stand and used to hold sterile instruments and supplies when it has been covered with a sterile towel. |
needle biopsy | A type of biopsy in which tissue from deep within the body is obtained by the insertion of a biopsy needle through the skin. |
nonabsobable suture | Suture material that is not absorbed by the body and either remains permanently in the body tissue and becomes encapsulated by fibrous tissue or is removed. |
postoperative | After a surgical operation. |
preoperative | Preceding a surgical operation |
puncture | A wound made by a sharp-pointed object piercing the skin. |
scalpel | A surgical knife used to divide tissue. |
scissors | A cutting instrument. |
sebaceous cyst | A thin, closed sac or capsule that contains fatty secretions from a sebaceous gland. |
serum | A clear straw colored part of the blood that remains after the solid elements have been separated out of it. |
sterile | Free of all microorganisms and bacterial spores. |
surgery | The branch of medicine that deals with operative and manual procedures for correction of deformities and defects, repair of injuries,and diagnosis and treatment of certain disease. |
surgical asepsis | Practices that keep objects and areas sterile or free from micoorganisms. |
sutures | Materials used to approximate tissues with surgical stitches. |
swaged needles | A needle with suturing material permanently attached to its end. |
wound | A break in the continuity of an external or internal surface caused by physical means. |