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12 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Define sterilization.
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The process of destroying all forms of microbial life on an object or in a material. Includes endospores.
It's absolute - there are no degrees of sterilization! |
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Define disinfection.
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The process of destroying vegetative pathogens but not necessarily endospores or viruses. Reduces/inhibits growth, but does not sterilize.
Applied to an object or material, NOT tissue. |
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Define antisepsis.
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Chemical disinfection of the skin, mucous membrane or other living tissue.
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Define germicide.
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A chemical agent that rapidly kills microbes but not necessarily their endospores.
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T/F?
Heat & some disinfectants are more effective in killing bacteria under acidic conditions than at a neutral pH. |
True.
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How do microbial agents act on cellular structures?
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Altering the permeability of the plasma membrane.
Damaging cellular proteins. Damaging cellular DNA. |
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T/F?
Bacteria die at a constant rate. |
True.
(For example, for each minute a treatment is applied, x% of the remaining population is killed. ) |
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What is autoclaving?
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An apparatus that uses steam under pressure to sterilize things.
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What is glutaraldehyde?
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The only liquid chemical disinfectant that can be considered a possible sterilizing agent.
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What is beta-propiolactone gas?
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A chemical used to sterilize things in a closed chamber (similar to an autoclave). A suspected carcinogen.
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What are surface-active agents?
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A type of disinfectant that can decrease surface tension among the molecules of a liquid. They emulsify debris and carry them off in lather.
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What is an example of non-ionizing radiation, and what does it do?
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UV light.
It damages the DNA of exposed cells by causing bonds to form between adjacent thymines in DNA chains. Inhibits correct replication of DNA. |
