Infection Control, Medical Asepsis, and Vital Signs Vocabulary Flashcards

Practice flashcards covering infection control, chain of infection, medical and surgical asepsis, OSHA guidelines, vital sign procedures, calculations, and normal values.

Sanitization

The cleansing process of removing blood, tissue, and other organic debris from instruments or equipment to reduce the number of microorganisms to a safe level.

Disinfection

The process of killing or inactivating pathogenic microorganisms on inanimate objects, which does not typically destroy bacterial spores.

Sterilization

The process that completely destroys all microorganisms, including bacterial spores, essential for surgical asepsis.

Antiseptic

A chemical agent safe for use on living tissue or skin to destroy or inhibit microorganisms.

Germicide

An agent that destroys pathogenic microorganisms.

Chain of Infection

The six-link process of infection transmission consisting of an infectious agent, reservoir host, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host.

Reservoir Host

The second link in the chain of infection that supplies nutrition for an organism, allowing it to survive and multiply.

Direct Transmission

Disease transmission occurring through direct person-to-person contact or direct contact with discharges from an infected person.

Indirect Transmission

Disease transmission occurring via airborne droplets, vectors, contaminated food or drink, or inanimate objects called fomites.

Fomite

An inanimate, contaminated object that indirectly transmits infectious pathogens from one person or source to another.

Interferon

A cellular substance produced by virus-infected cells that helps protect neighboring cells from viral invasion.

Humoral Immunity

A component of adaptive immunity involving B lymphocytes and the production of circulating antibodies.

Cell-Mediated Immunity

An immune response involving cellular reactions that are stimulated directly by the presence of an antigen.

Acute Infection

An infection characterized by a rapid onset of symptoms that lasts a relatively short time.

Prodromal Period

The initial phase of an infection when a patient experiences vague, nonspecific symptoms before tissue damage causes full clinical disease.

Chronic Infection

An infection that persists for a long period of time, sometimes for life, and may feature alternating periods of relapse and remission.

Latent Infection

A persistent infection in which the pathogen remains inactive in the body and symptoms cycle through periods of relapse and remission.

Opportunistic Infection

An infection caused by organisms that are not typically pathogenic but produce disease in hosts with an impaired immune system response.

Universal Precautions

An OSHA safety standard requiring healthcare personnel to handle all blood and specified body fluids as if known to be infectious for bloodborne pathogens.

Medical Asepsis

Techniques and practices used to destroy disease-causing organisms after they leave the body to prevent cross-contamination.

Surgical Asepsis

Practices designed to completely destroy all microorganisms before they enter the body during invasive procedures.

Transient Bacteria

Surface skin bacteria introduced through contact with fomites that can be mechanically removed by friction during handwashing.

Resident Bacteria

Microorganisms located deep under fingernails, in hair follicles, and in openings of sebaceous glands in deeper skin layers.

High-Level Disinfectant

A chemical agent capable of killing all microorganisms except for large numbers of bacterial spores.

Intermediate-Level Disinfectant

A disinfectant that kills mycobacteria, vegetative bacteria, most viruses, and most fungi, but does not kill spores.

Low-Level Disinfectant

A disinfectant agent capable of killing most vegetative bacteria, some fungi, and some viruses.

Ultrasonic Sanitization

A sanitization method utilizing high-frequency sound waves in a bath of cleaner and water to cleanse delicate or sharp instruments.

Erythema

Redness of the skin, which is one of the four cardinal signs of inflammation.

Edema

Swelling of body tissues caused by fluid accumulation, serving as one of the four cardinal signs of inflammation.

Chemotaxis

The cellular release of chemical agents during inflammation that attracts white blood cells to an injury site.

Vital Signs

Primary physical clinical measurements comprising body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.

Anthropometric Measurements

Physical measurements of the human body, including height, weight, and body mass index ($\text{BMI}$), usually taken alongside vital signs.

Pyrexia

Fever, clinically recognized as an oral body temperature above $100.5\,^\circ\text{F}$.

Continuous Fever

A fever pattern in which body temperature remains persistently elevated with very little variation.

Intermittent Fever

A fever pattern where body temperature alternates at regular intervals between periods of fever and normal levels.

Remittent Fever

A fever pattern in which body temperature fluctuates considerably throughout the day but never returns to normal.

Temporal Artery Thermometer

A noninvasive thermometer used across the forehead, identified as the preferred safe and accurate site for infants or patients with bilateral otitis externa.

Tympanic Thermometer

An ear thermometer that measures infrared thermal radiation from the tympanic membrane; contra-indicated when bilateral impacted cerumen is present.

Fahrenheit to Celsius Conversion

The temperature conversion formula given by \text{^\circ C} = (\text{^\circ F} - 32) \times \frac{5}{9}.

Celsius to Fahrenheit Conversion

The temperature conversion formula given by \text{^\circ F} = \left(\text{^\circ C} \times \frac{9}{5}\right) + 32.

Average Adult Oral Temperature

The baseline average oral body temperature for a healthy adult, defined as $98.6\,^\circ\text{F}$ or $37.0\,^\circ\text{C}$.

Average Adult Axillary Temperature

The baseline average axillary body temperature for a healthy adult, defined as $97.6\,^\circ\text{F}$ or $36.4\,^\circ\text{C}$.

Pulse Rate

The number of heartbeats felt as blood moves through an artery in $1\,\text{minute}$, averaging $60$ to $100\,\text{beats per minute}$ in adults.

Bradycardia

An abnormally slow pulse rate below normal limits, which may be a normal resting finding ($50$ to $60\,\text{beats per minute}$) in well-conditioned athletes.

Pulse Volume

The strength of the heart contraction felt in the artery, recorded on a 3-point scale ($3+$ full/bounding, $2+$ normal, $1+$ weak/thready).

Pulse Deficit

The numerical difference between the simultaneously measured apical pulse rate and radial pulse rate.

Apical Pulse

The pulse rate measured by auscultating over the apex of the heart with a stethoscope, commonly used for assessing infants.

Radial Pulse

The pulse measurement site located on the thumb side of the wrist.

Carotid Pulse

The pulse measurement site located in the neck between the larynx and the sternocleidomastoid muscle.

Brachial Pulse

The pulse site located at the inner aspect of the elbow in the antecubital space, used for placing the stethoscope during blood pressure measurement.

Popliteal Pulse

The pulse site located behind the knee.

Dorsalis Pedis Pulse

The pulse site located across the arch on top of the foot, slightly lateral to the midline.

Apnea

The complete temporary or permanent absence of breathing.

Dyspnea

Difficult, painful, or labored breathing.

Orthopnea

Difficulty breathing when lying flat, commonly seen in patients with congestive heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Hyperpnea

An abnormal increase in the depth of respiratory movements.

Bradypnea

An abnormally slow respiration rate.

Stertorous Breathing

Noisy respiratory sounds resembling heavy snoring.

Wheezing

A high-pitched, whistling sound produced during breathing due to narrowed airways.

Respiratory-to-Pulse Ratio

The normal resting physiological proportion in a healthy adult, defined as $1\,\text{respiration}$ to $4\,\text{pulse beats}$ ($1:4$).

Sphygmomanometer

An instrument consisting of an inflatable cuff and pressure gauge used in combination with a stethoscope to measure blood pressure.

Systolic Blood Pressure

The maximum pressure exerted on arterial walls during ventricular contraction, recorded at Korotkoff Phase I when the first tapping sound is heard.

Diastolic Blood Pressure

The minimum pressure remaining in arteries during ventricular relaxation, recorded at Korotkoff Phase V when all sounds completely disappear.

Pulse Pressure

The numerical difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings, calculated as $\text{Pulse Pressure} = \text{Systolic} - \text{Diastolic}$.

Essential Hypertension

Primary high blood pressure with no single identified cause, characterized by systolic pressure of $140$ to $159\,\text{mm\,Hg}$ or diastolic pressure of $90$ to $99\,\text{mm\,Hg}$.

Secondary Hypertension

Elevated blood pressure that occurs as a direct result of an underlying disease or pathologic condition.

Hypertensive Crisis

A severe blood pressure emergency marked by systolic pressure $> 180\,\text{mm\,Hg}$ and/or diastolic pressure $> 120\,\text{mm\,Hg}$.

Orthostatic Hypotension

A transient drop in blood pressure evaluated by comparing blood pressure measurements taken while the patient is lying down versus standing.

Oversized Blood Pressure Cuff

A blood pressure cuff that is too large for the patient's arm circumference, which produces an artificially low blood pressure reading.

Undersized Blood Pressure Cuff

A blood pressure cuff that is too small for the patient's arm circumference, which produces an artificially high blood pressure reading.

Palpatory Method

A technique for estimating systolic pressure by palpating the radial pulse while inflating the cuff until the pulse disappears and then adding $30\,\text{mm\,Hg}$.

Pulse Oximetry

A noninvasive test using a clip probe on a finger or earlobe to evaluate pulse rate and arterial oxygen saturation ($\text{SpO}_2$), with normal values being $95\%$ or higher.

Weight Conversion Formula (Pounds to Kilograms)

The conversion calculation where weight in pounds is divided by $2.2$ to yield weight in kilograms, represented as $\text{Weight in kg} = \frac{\text{Weight in lb}}{2.2}$.

Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act

A mandate under OSHA requiring healthcare employers to maintain a confidential sharps injury log describing the device involved and details of the incident.