Terminology Of Asepsis & Sterile Technique Flashcards
aseptic technique
Methods practiced by the surgical team to prevent microbial contamination of the surgical environment.
antiseptic
Substance commonly used on living tissue to inhibit the growth and reproduction of microbes to prevent infection.
asepsis
Absence of pathogenic microorganisms
Bacteriocidal
Substance that destroy/ kills bacteria
Bacteriostatic
Substance that inhibits the growth and reproduction of bacteria
Bioburden
The number of microbes or amount of organic debris on an object at any given time.
Contamination
The presence of pathogenic materials
Cross contamination
The contamination of a person or object by another.
Decontamination
To reduce to an irreducible minimum the presence of pathogenic material
Disinfection
Chemical agent that kills most microbes but usually not spores; usually used on inanimate objects because these compounds are usually too strong to be used on living tissue
Event-related sterility
Sterility determined by how a package is handled rather than time elapsed; a package is considered sterile until opened or the integrity of packing material is damaged.
Fomite
Inanimate object that harbors microorganisms.
Fungicide
Agent that destroys fungus
Infection
Invasion of the human body or tissue by pathogenic microorganisms that reproduce and multiply, causing disease
Nosocomial
Infection acquired within a health care facility
Pathogen
Any microbe capable of causing disease
Resident flora
Microbes that normally reside below the skin surface or within the body
Sepsis
Infection, usually accompanied by fever that results from the presence of pathogenic microorganisms
Spore
A resistant form of certain types of bacteria that are able to survive in adverse conditions
Sporicide
Substance that kills destroys bacteria in the spore stage
Sterile
Having been rendered free of all living microorganisms, including spores
Sterile field
Specified area usually the area immediately around patient that is considered free of microorganisms
Sterile technique
Techniques of creating a sterile field and performing within the sterile field to keep microbes at an irreducible minimum
Sterilization
The destruction of all microorganisms including spores on inanimate surfaces through the use of steam or chemical sterilization, electron bombardment or irradiation
Surgically clean
Mechanically clean and chemically disinfected but not sterile.
Strike-through contamination
Contamination of a sterile field that occurs through the passage of fluid through or a puncture in a microbial barrier
Terminal disinfection
to render items safe to handle by high-level of disinfection.
Terminal sterilization
to render items safe to handle by sterilization
Transient flora
Microbes that reside on the skin surface and are easily removed.
Vector
living carrier that transmits disease
Virucid
agent that destroys viruses
