- Acquired immunity
- see Passive immunity
- Active immunity
- a resistance of the body to infection in which the host produces its own antibodies in response to natural or artificial antigens
- Acute infection
- those that generally appear suddenly or last a short time
- Airborne transmission
- infectious agent transmitted by droplets or dust
- Airborne precautions
- methods used to reduce exposure to infectious agents transmitted by airborne droplet nuclei smaller than 5 microns
- Antibodies
- immunoglobulins, part of the body’s plasma proteins, defend primarily against the extracellular phases of bacterial and viral infections
- Antigen
- a substance capable of inducing the formation of antibodies
- Antiseptics
- agents that inhibit the growth of some microorganisms
- Asepsis
- freedom from infection or infectious material
- Autoantigen
- an antigen that originates in a person’s own body
- Bacteria
- the most common infection-causing microorganisms
- Bacteremia
- bacteria in the blood
- Bacteriocins
- substances produced by some normal flora (e.g., enterobacteria), that can be lethal to related strains of bacteria
- Bloodborne pathogens
- those microorganisms carried in blood and body fluids that are capable of infecting other persons with serious and difficult to treat viral infections, namely hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and HIV
- Body substance isolation (BSI)
- generic infection control precautions for all clients except those with diseases transmitted through the air
- Carrier
- a person or animal that harbors a specific infectious agent and serves as a potential source of infection, yet does not manifest any clinical signs of disease
- Cell-mediated defenses
- see Cellular immunity
- Cellular immunity
- also known as cell-mediated defenses, occur through the T-cell system
- Chemotaxis
- the action by which leukocytes are attracted to injured cells
- Chronic infection
- infection that occurs slowly, over a very long period, and may last months or years
- Cicatrix
- scar
- Circulating immunity
- see Humoral immunity
- Clean
- free of potentially infectious agents
- Colonization
- the presence of organisms in body secretions or excretions in which strains of bacteria become resident flora but do not cause illness
- Communicable disease
- a disease that can spread from one person to another
- Compromised host
- any person at increased risk for an infection
- Contact precautions
- methods used to reduce exposure to infectious agents easily transmitted by direct client contact or by contact with items in the client’s environment
- Cultures
- laboratory cultivations of microorganisms in a special growth medium
- Diapedesis
- the movement of blood corpuscles through a blood vessel wall
- Dirty
- denotes the likely presence of microorganisms, some of which may be capable of causing infection
- Disease
- an alteration in body function resulting in a reduction of capacities or shortening of the normal life span
- Disinfectants
- agents that destroy pathogens other than spores
- Droplet nuclei
- residue of evaporated droplets that remains in the air for long periods of time
- Droplet precautions
- methods used to reduce exposure to infectious agents transmitted by particle droplets larger than 5 microns
- Emigration
- process in which leukocytes move through the blood vessel wall into the affected tissue spaces
- Endogenous
- developing from within
- Exogenous
- developing from without
- Exudate
- material, such as fluid and cells, that has escaped from blood vessels during the inflammatory process and is deposited in tissue or on tissue surfaces
- Fibrinogen
- a plasma protein that is converted to fibrin when it is released into the tissues and, together with thromboplastin and platelets, forms an interlacing network making a barrier to wall off an area
- Fibrous (scar) tissue
- connective tissue repair of wounds with tissue that can proliferate under conditions of ischemia and altered pH
- Fungi
- infection-causing microorganisms that include yeasts and molds
- Granulation tissue
- young connective tissue with new capillaries formed in the wound healing process
- Humoral immunity
- antibody-mediated defense; resides ultimately in the B lymphocytes and is mediated by the antibodies produced by B cells
- Hyperemia
- increased blood flow to an area
- Iatrogenic infections
- infections that are the direct result of diagnostic or therapeutic procedures
- Immune defenses
- see Specific defenses
- Immunity
- a specific resistance of the body to infection; it may be natural, or resistance developed after exposure to a disease agent
- Immunoglobulins
- see Antibodies
- Infection
- the disease process produced by microorganisms
- Inflammation
- local and nonspecific defensive tissue response to injury or destruction of cells
- Isolation
- practices that prevent the spread of infection and communicable disease
- Leukocytes
- white blood cells
- Leukocytosis
- an increase in the number of white blood cells
- Local infection
- an infection that is limited to the specific part of the body where the microorganisms remain
- Macrophages
- large phagocytes
- Margination
- the aggregating or lining up of substances along a surface or edge (eg, the lining up of white blood cells against the wall of a blood vessel during the inflammatory process)
- Medical asepsis
- all practices intended to confine a specific microorganism to a specific area, limiting the number, growth, and spread of microorganisms
- Nonspecific defenses
- bodily defenses that protect a person against all microorganisms, regardless of prior exposure
- Nosocomial infections
- infections associated with the delivery of health care services in a health care facility
- Occupational exposure
- skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance of an employee’s duties
- Opportunistic pathogen
- a microorganism causing disease only in a susceptible individual
- Parasites
- microorganisms that live in or on another from which it obtains nourishment
- Passive immunity
- a resistance of the body to infection in which the host receives natural or artificial antibodies produced by another source
- Pathogenicity
- the ability to produce disease; a pathogen is a microorganism that causes disease
- Phagocytes
- cells that ingest microorganisms, other cells, and foreign particles
- Regeneration
- renewal, regrowth, the replacement of destroyed tissue cells by cells that are identical or similar in structure and function
- Reservoir
- a source of microorganisms
- Resident flora
- microorganisms that normally reside on the skin, mucous membranes, and inside the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts
- Sepsis
- the presence of pathogenic organisms or their toxins in the blood or body tissues
- Septicemia
- occurs when bacteremia results in systemic infection
- Specific (immune) defenses
- immune functions directed against identifiable bacteria, viruses, fungi, or other infectious agents
- Sterile field
- a specified area that is considered free from microorganisms
- Sterile technique
- practices that keep an area or object free of all microorganisms;
- Sterilization
- a process that destroys all microorganisms, including spores and viruses
- Surgical asepsis
- see Sterile technique
- Systemic infection
- when pathogens spread and damage different parts of the body
- Universal precautions (UP)
- techniques to be used with all clients to decrease the risk of transmitting unidentified pathogens; currently, Standard Precautions incorporate UP and BSI
- Vector-borne transmission
- a vector is an animal or flying or crawling insect that serves as an intermediate means of transporting the infectious agent
- Vehicle-borne transmission
- a vehicle is any substance that serves as an intermediate means to transport and introduce an infectious agent into a susceptible host through a suitable portal of entry
- Viruses
- nucleic acid-based infectious agents
- Virulence
- ability to produce disease
