Infection Control and Asepsis Vocabulary

Question 1

Aseptic Techniques

Answer 1

Methods used to maintain a pathogen-free condition

Question 2

Autoclave

Answer 2

A container that exposes equipment to moisture at high heat and pressure for a certain amount of time

Question 3

Body Substance Isolation

Answer 3

A variety of aseptic techniques used to maintain a barrier between a healthcare worker and a patient’s bodily fluids

Question 4

Chain Of Infection

Answer 4

A series of connected steps that explains how infectious diseases are spread

Question 5

Cleaning

Answer 5

The process of removing visible contamination on an object

Question 6

Critical Items

Answer 6

Items that present a high risk of infection if they are contaminated with infectious agents

Question 7

Disinfection

Answer 7

A process that kills most, but not all, infectious agents on an object

Question 8

Ethylene Oxide Sterilization

Answer 8

A process used to sterilize materials that are sensitive to high temperatures and moisture

Question 9

General Asepsis

Answer 9

A condition of being mostly free from pathogens

Question 10

Host

Answer 10

A living thing infected with a disease

Question 11

Infection

Answer 11

The presence of foreign bodies, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, that may cause disease

Question 12

Infection Control

Answer 12

The act of preventing the spread of infection

Question 13

Infectious Agent

Answer 13

A disease-causing body, such as a virus or bacterium

Question 14

Medical Asepsis

Answer 14

A condition that is sterile, or free from infection

Question 15

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Answer 15

A type of disease-causing bacteria that cannot be treated with many common antibiotics

Question 16

Noncritical Items

Answer 16

Items that present the lowest risk for transmitting infection because they are intended to contact unbroken skin

Question 17

Pathogens

Answer 17

Disease-causing infectious agents

Question 18

Personal Protective Equipment

Answer 18

Physical barriers such as gloves, masks, goggles, and gowns that prevent healthcare workers from coming in contact with a patient’s bodily fluids

Question 19

Portal Of Entry

Answer 19

A pathway into a host

Question 20

Portal Of Exit

Answer 20

The nose, the mouth, an open wound, or any other opening that allows an infectious agent to leave a reservoir

Question 21

Reservoir

Answer 21

A living or nonliving thing in which an infectious agent can reproduce

Question 22

Semicritical Items

Answer 22

Items that present a lower risk of infection because they are intended to contact body tissues like mucous membranes or broken skin

Question 23

Standard Precautions

Answer 23

Aseptic techniques used to prevent the spread of pathogens that live and reproduce in blood and other body fluids

Question 24

Steam Sterilization

Answer 24

An inexpensive and simple way to sterilize medical equipment using moisture at high heat and pressure

Question 25

Sterile

Answer 25

A word describing the condition of objects that have been sterilized; a condition of objects that are free of living pathogens

Question 26

Sterilization

Answer 26

A process that kills all infectious agents, including spores, on the surface of an object

Question 27

Surgical Asepsis

Answer 27

The condition of being completely free from pathogens