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Bonewit Chapt 2
Medical Asepsis and the OSHA Standard ( Melinda Hanson)
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Aerobe | A microorganism that needs oxygen to live and grow |
Anaerobe | A microorganism that grows best in the absence of oxygen |
Antiseptic | An agent that inhibits the growth of or kills microorganisms |
Asepsis | Free from infection or pathogens; the actions practiced to make and maintain an area or object free from infection or pathogens |
Cilia | Slender, hairlike projections that constantly beat toward the outside to remove microorganisms from the body |
Contaminate | To soil or to make impure |
Decontamination | 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; the surface of item is rendered safe for handling, use, or disposal |
Hand hygiene | The process of cleansing or sanitizing the hand |
Infection | The condition in which the body, or part of it, is invaded by a pathogen |
Medical asepsis | Practices that are employed to reduce the number and hinder the transmission of pathogens |
Microorganism | A microscopic plant or animal |
Nonintact skin | Skin that has a break in the surface; includes, but is not limited to, abrasions, cuts, hangnails, paper cuts and burns |
Nonpathogen | A microorganism that does not normally produce disease |
Opportunistic infection | An infection that results from a defective immune system that cannot defend the body from pathogens normally found in the environment |
Optimum growth temperature | The temperature at which an organism grows best |
pH | The degree to which a solution is acidic or basic |
Parenteral | Taken into the body through the piercing of the skin barrier or mucous membranes, such as through needlesticks, human bites, cuts and abrasions |
Pathogen | A disease producing microorganism |
Perinatal | Relating to the period shortly before and after birth |
Postexposure prophylaxis | Treatment adminstered to an individual after exposure to an infectious disease to prevent the disease, abbreviated as PEP |
Regulated medical waste | Medical waste that poses a threat to health and safety; abbreviated as RMW |
Reservoir host | The organism that becomes infected by a pathogen and serves as a source of transfer of the pathogen to others |
Resident flora | Harmless, nonpathogenic microorganisms that normally reside on the skin and usually do not cause disease; also known as normal flora |
Susceptible | Easily affected; lacking resistance |
Transient flora | Microorganisms that reside on the superficial skin layers and are picked up in the course of daily activities; are often pathogenic but can be removed easily from the skin by sanitizing the hands |