Medical Laboratory Safety and Specimen Handling Key Terms

Autoclave

A device utilizing steam under pressure to sterilize medical instruments and laboratory specimens.

Caustic

Burning or corrosive; usually destructive to living tissue.

Contamination

The pollution of an area or substance with unwanted extraneous material such as pathogens or hazardous chemicals.

Disinfection

Any practical procedure for reducing the pathogen contamination in the inanimate environment, as in air, on work counters, or equipment.

Hazardous chemical list

A list maintained by OSHA that identifies toxic chemicals used in laboratories.

Incident Report

A report made by a health care worker when an event occurs, which is not consistent with the routine operation of the medical facility.

Infection Control

In health care institutions, the constant effort to prevent the spread of infectious organisms; a separate department in larger facilities.

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

Information that comes from the chemical manufacturer and suppliers about the dangers of the chemical.

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)

A federal agency within the U.S. Department of Labor. OSHA works against occupational sources of disease.

PPE (personal protective equipment)

Clothing and other equipment that shields workers from outside contaminants.

Specimen

Small amount of body tissue (e.g., urine, blood, or tumor biopsy) taken for purposes of examination.

Standard Precautions

A set of CDC safety procedures designed to protect patients and healthcare workers from infectious agents.

Universal Precautions

A set of recommendations formulated by the CDC to protect workers against HIV and other pathogens.

Accreditation

A voluntary process in which a private, independent agency grants recognition to institutions that meet or exceed established standards of quality.

Epidemiology

The study of the factors that cause disease and determine frequency and distribution.

Immunohematology

The study of blood group antigens and antibodies; blood banking.

Mycology

The study of fungi.

Stat test

A test that must be performed immediately.

Deionized water

Water that has had most of the mineral ions removed.

Distilled water

The condensate collected from steam after water has been boiled.

Controls

Generally made from human blood, known substances that are ran with laboratory test to check equipment, reagents, and technique.

Fasting State

A specimen collected from a patient who has not been eating or drinking for a prescribed time.

Time Specimen

A specimen must be collected at a certain time.

Standards

Solutions of a known value of a pure substance used in quality control testing.

Solute

Substance being dissolved, usually a solid.

Solvent

The liquid that is doing the dissolving, sometimes called a diluent.

Solution

Homogeneous mixture of substances, remained dissolved, permanent mixture.

Suspension

Heterogeneous mixture of substance in which solute settles out.

Supernatant

Liquid that floats on the top, may float on top of another liquid or solid.

Precipitate

Material that settles to the bottom, also called sediment.