MSP 204 MODULE 1 VOCABULARY WORDS

Biochemistry

The study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms.

Cosmetics and medicines are examples of biochemistry that we use in our day to day lives.

Embalming Chemistry

The art and science of preserving human remains to forestall decomposition in order to keep the body suitable for public display at a funeral or ceremony.

Embalming chemistry has been a constant evolution.

Thanatochemistry

The root word, Thanatos, is derived from the Greek mythology for the personification of death. Thanatochemist study the chemical reactions, processes, and parameters of decomposition.

Thanatochemistry is referred to the chemistry of death.

Inorganic Chemistry

Sometimes referred to as general chemistry, covers all chemical compounds except the myriad of carbon and hydrogen (C-H) containing compounds associated with organic chemistry.

If a compound contains carbon, it will NOT be covered in inorganic chemistry.

Organic Chemistry

A chemistry discipline involving the scientific study of matter in its various forms that contain mostly (but not completely) carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms.

Compounds that do contain carbon will be covered in organic chemistry.

Viscosity

Am important concept in the funeral service as it related directly to blood and distribution of embalming chemicals. It can be thought of as the "thickness" of a fluid. The higher the viscosity, the thicker the fluid is.

When water is frozen it has a higher viscosity.

Density

Used to relate mass of a substance to the volume of a substance. Defined to be the amount of mass of a certain substance divided by the amount of volume the mass occupies.

Some medications can cause bone density.

Entropy

Can be thought of as the tendency of matter to become more disorganized (or chaotic) over time.

Entropy isn't uncommon when working on an embalming.

Universal Precautions

Actions taken to prevent the spread of disease by treating all blood and other body fluids as if they contained pathogens.

At any job that deals with blood or chemicals there are universal precautions that must be taken by employees.

OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a government agency in the Department of Labor to maintain a safe and healthy work environment.

OSHA has standards that every employer must follow for the safety of their employees.

Safety Data Sheet

Abbreviated SDS; required by law for all products sold. SDSs include safety information about products compiled by the manufacturer, including hazardous ingredients, safe use and handling procedures, proper disposal guidelines, precautions to reduce the risk of accidental harm or overexposure, and more.

There must be a safety data sheet that an embalmer can have access to in the prep room.

Permissible Exposure Limit

PEL; the maximum legal limits established by OSHA for regulated substances; these are based on employee exposure that are time-weighted over an 8-hour work shift; when these limits are exceeded, employers must take proper steps to reduce employee exposure; for formaldehyde, the PEL is .75 ppm.

OSHA set the permissible exposure limit to eight hours because that is the average workday length.

Short-Term Exposure Limit

STEL: legal limits established by OSHA to which workers can be exposed continuously for a short period of time without damage or injury; exposures at the STEL should not be for more than 15 minutes and not repeated more than four times a day

If the short-term exposure limit is surpassed it can lead to long-term physical and health effects on employees.

Time Weighted Average

TWA: an evaluation of exposures that are time-weighted over an established period; it allows the exposure levels to be averaged generally over an 8-hour time period

Time weighted average is more accurate than estimating the average.

Action Level

Concentrated level of a contaminate that may trigger treatment requirements or other actions.

Action levels shouldn't be reached often for the health of the employees.