Term | Definition |
Aerobe | A microorganism that needs oxygen to live & grow. |
Anaerobe | A microorganism that grows best in the absence of oxygen |
Antiseptic | An agent the inhabits the growth of or kills microorganisms. |
Asepsis | Free from infection or pathogens; the action practices to make & 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 make impure. An aseptic object becomes "this" when it touches something that is not clean |
Decontamination | the use of physical or chemical means to remove, inactive, or destroy pathogens on a surface or item to the point where they are no longer capable of transmitting infectious particles; the surface or item is rendered safe for handling, use or disposal |
Hand Hygiene | the process of cleansing or sanitizing the hands |
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 & hinder the transmission of pathogens |
microorganism | a microscopic plant or animal |
nonintact skin | skin that has a break in the surface. it includes, but is not limited to, abrasions, cuts, burns, hangnails, & paper cuts |
Nonpathogen | a microorganism that does not normally produce disease |
Opportunistic infection | An infection that results from defective immune system that cannot defend the the body from pathogens normally found in the enviroment |
Optimum growth Temperature | the temperature that an organism grows best in |
Parenteral | taken into the body through the piercing of the skin barrier or mucous membranes, such as through needlesticks, human bites, cuts & abrasion |
Pathogen | a disease-producing microorganism |
perinatal | relating to the period before & after birth |
pH | the degree to which a solution is acidic or basic |
Postexposure Prophylaxis | treatment administered to an individual after exposure to an infectious disease to prevent the disease |
Regulated Medical waste | medical waste that poses a threat to health & safty |
Reservoir Host | the organism that becomes infected by a pathogen & serves as a source of transfer of the pathogen to others |
resident flora | harmless, nonpathegenic microorganism that normally reside on the skin & 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. they are ofthen pathogenic but can be removed easily from the skin by sanitizing the hands |