Week 6 Terms

Question 1

Aerobes

Answer 1

Organisms that favor an environment with oxygen

Question 2

Aerosol droplets

Answer 2

Droplets of moisture small enough to remain suspended in air

Question 3

Anaerobes

Answer 3

Organisms that prefer an oxygen poor environment

Question 4

Bioburden

Answer 4

Measure of the number of bacterial colonies on a surface

Question 5

Contaminated

Answer 5

Surface, substance, or tissue that is not completely free of microorganisms

Question 6

Cross-contamination

Answer 6

Spread of infection from one person to another or from an object to a person

Question 7

Culture

Answer 7

Process of growing a microbe in a laboratory setting so that it can be studied and tested

Question 8

Diffusion

Answer 8

Uniform dispersal of particles in a solution or across a membrane

Question 9

Direct transmission

Answer 9

Transfer of microbes by direct physical contact with the microbes

Question 10

Droplet nuclei

Answer 10

Dried remnants of previously moist secretions containing microbes

Question 11

Endospore

Answer 11

Spores; Dormant stage of some bacteria that allows them to survive in extreme environmental conditions

Question 12

Entry site

Answer 12

In microbial transmission, the sites where microbes enter the body

Question 13

Fomite

Answer 13

Intermediate inanimate source in the process of disease transmission

Question 14

Infection

Answer 14

State or condition in which pathogenic microbes invade and colonize the body or body tissues

Question 15

Inflammation

Answer 15

Body’s nonspecific reaction to injury or infection that results in redness, heat, swelling, and pain

Question 16

Necrosis

Answer 16

Tissue death

Question 17

Nosocomial infection

Answer 17

Hospital-acquired infection (HAI)

Question 18

Opportunistic infection

Answer 18

Infection in a weakened individual or as the result of specific drugs

Question 19

Pathogen

Answer 19

Disease-causing microbes

Question 20

Prion

Answer 20

Infectious protein substance that is resistant to common sterilization methods

Question 21

Resident microorganisms

Answer 21

Microorganisms that normally colonize certain tissues of the body

Question 22

Sterile

Answer 22

Completely free of all microbes

Question 23

Suppurative

Answer 23

Having developed pus and fluid

Question 24

Vector

Answer 24

A living intermediate carrier of microbes from one host to another

Question 25

Virulence

Answer 25

Degree to which a microbe is capable of causing disease

Question 26

Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AMMI)

Answer 26

An authoritative source of standards for sterilization and disinfection

Question 27

Antisepsis

Answer 27

Process that greatly reduces the number of microbes on skin or other tissues

Question 28

Bactericidal

Answer 28

Able to kill bacteria

Question 29

Biological indicator

Answer 29

Quality control mechanism used in the process of sterilization

Question 30

Cavitation

Answer 30

Process in which air bubble are imploded (burst inward), relating particles of soil or tissue debris

Question 31

Chemical indicator

Answer 31

Method of testing a sterilization parameter

Question 32

Chemical sterilization

Answer 32

Process that uses chemical agents to achieve sterilization

Question 33

Cobalt-60 radiation

Answer 33

Method of institutional bulk sterilization used by manufacturers to sterilize prepackaged equipment using ionizing radiation

Question 34

Decontamination

Answer 34

Process in which recently used and soiled medical devices are rendered safe for personnel to handle

Question 35

Disinfection

Answer 35

Destruction of microbes by heat or chemical means

Question 36

Ethylene oxide (EO)

Answer 36

A highly flammable gas that is capable of sterilizing an object

Question 37

Exposure time

Answer 37

Hold time; Amount of time goods are held at a specific time, temperature, and pressure during a sterilization process

Question 38

Fungicidal

Answer 38

Able to kill fungi

Question 39

Gas plasma sterilization

Answer 39

Process that uses the form of matter known as plasma to sterilize an item

Question 40

Gravity displacement sterilizer

Answer 40

Type of sterilizer that removes air by gravity

Question 41

High-vacuum sterilizer

Answer 41

Pre vacuum sterilizer; Type of stem sterilizer that removes air in the chamber by vacuum and refills it with pressurized steam

Question 42

Immediate-use sterilizer

Answer 42

Flash sterilization; items to be sterilized shortly before surgery must be processed so they are ready as close to the time of surgery as possible

Question 43

Non critical items

Answer 43

Items that are not required to be sterile because they do not penetrate intact tissues (i.e. stethoscope, blood pressure cuffs)

Question 44

Peracetic acid

Answer 44

Chemical used in the sterilization of critical items

Question 45

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Answer 45

Protects wearer from contamination by microbes; approved attire worn during the reprocessing of medical devices and cleaning of pt areas

Question 46

Sharps

Answer 46

Any objects used in health care that are capable of penetrating the skin

Question 47

Shelf life

Answer 47

Length of time a wrapped item remains sterile after it has been subjected to a sterilization process

Question 48

Spaulding system

Answer 48

System used to determine the level of microbial destruction required for medical devices and supplies based on the risk of infection associated with the area of the body where the device is used

Question 49

Sterilization

Answer 49

Process by which all microorganisms (incl. spores) are destroyed

Question 50

Washer-sterilizer/disinfector

Answer 50

Equipment that washes and decontaminates instruments after an operative procedure