A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A
ABSCESS – A localized collection of pus in any part of the body.
ACUTE – Having a rapid onset and following a short but severe course; example, acute disease. or: Sharp, severe or intense, example: acute pain.
AEROSOL – A fine mist or spray, which contains minute particles.
AGENT – A force or substance that causes a change (such as chemical or infectious agents.)
AIRBORNE – Carried by or through the air.
ANTIBODY – Protein produced by an organism’s immune system that recognizes foreign substances.
ANTIGEN – Any substance that stimulates an immune response by the body. The immune system recognizes such substances as being foreign and produces antibodies to fight them.
ANTIDOTE – A remedy to counteract the effects of a poison.
ANTITOXIN – An antibody that neutralizes a biological poison.

B
BARRIER NURSING METHODS – Nursing techniques designed to prevent contact with a patient’s blood or secretions. These include the wearing of protective clothing such as masks, gloves, gowns and goggles, the use of infection-control measures, including equipment sterilization and complete isolation of the patient. (Also: Standard Precautions.)

C
CARRIER – A person or animal that harbors a specific infectious agent without visible symptoms of the disease. Can be a potential source of infection.
CHLORINE – An irritating, potentially lethal, greenish gas commonly used in disinfectants and bleach.
CHRONIC – Lasting for a long period of time or marked by frequent recurrence.
CONTAINMENT (Building/structure) – A structure found at nuclear power plants designed to contain any radioactive materials that may be released from the nuclear reactor fuel and cooling systems.
CONTAGIOUS – Transmittable by direct or indirect contact.
CUTANEOUS – Related to the skin.
CYANIDE – A highly poisonous compound.
CYANOSIS – A bluish discoloration of the skin.

D
DECONTAMINATION – Removal of poisonous, noxious or radioactive substances.
DISSEMINATE – To spread over a large area. To become diffused.
DISSIPATE – To vanish by dispersion.

E
ENCEPHALITIS – Inflammation of the brain.
ENDEMIC – Widespread in a given population.
ENDOCARDITIS – Inflammation of the membrane that lines the interior of the heart.
ENZOOTIC – Affecting or peculiar to animals of a specific geographic area. A enzootic disease is constantly present in a specific animal community, but only occurs in a small number of cases.
EPIDEMIC – The occurrence of cases of an illness in a region in excess of what is normally expected.
EPIDEMIOLOGY – The study of the spread of diseases.
EXCRETION – Elimination of wastes.

F
FALLOUT – The descent to the earth’s surface of particles contaminated with radioactive material from a radioactive cloud. The term can also be applied to the contaminated particulate matter itself.
FISSION – The act or process of splitting into parts. A nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus, splits into fragments, releasing energy.
FISSION PRODUCTS – A complex mixture of substances produced as a result of nuclear atoms splitting (fission).

H
HEMORRHAGIC – Bleeding.
HEPATITIS – Inflammation of the liver, caused by infectious or toxic agents and characterized by jaundice, fever, liver enlargement and abdominal pain.
HOST – An organism in which a parasite lives and by which it is nourished.

I
IMMUNITY – Inherited, acquired or induced resistance to infection by specific pathogens.
INCUBATION – The development of an infection from the time the pathogen enters the body until signs or symptoms first appear.
INDIGENOUS – Native.
INFECTION – The entry and development of an infectious agent in the body of a person or animal.
INFECTIOUS – Invaded by toxic microorganisms, causing injury.
INGESTION – Swallowing.
INHALATION – Breathing.
ISOLATION – Setting apart or cutting off from others. Quarantine.

J
JAUNDICE – Yellowish discoloration of the whites of the eyes, skin and mucous membranes caused by deposition of bile salts in these tissues.

L
LESION – A wound or injury.
LYMPHATIC – Related to the clear, watery fluid containing white blood cells that circulates in the body and acts to remove bacteria and certain proteins from the tissues, transports fat from the small intestine, and supplies mature lymphocytes (cells related to immunity) to the blood.

M
MACE – An irritating chemical spray used in crowd control.
MALAISE – A feeling of illness or depression.
MENINGITIS – Inflammation of the membranes which enclose the brain and the spinal cord, most often caused by a bacterial or viral infection. It is characterized by fever, vomiting, intense headache and stiff neck.
MIOSIS – Excessive contraction of the pupil of the eye.
MORBIDITY – The rate of incidence of a disease.
MORTALITY – Frequency of death in a population.
MUCOSA – Membranes lining all body passages that communicate with the air, and have cells and associated glands that secrete mucus. Also called mucous membrane. Mucosal adj.

P
PARALYSIS – Loss or impairment of the ability to move a body part, usually as a result of damage to its nerve supply. Loss of sensation over a region of the body.
PHOSGENE – A colorless, potentially lethal, liquid or gas.
PLEURAL EFFUSION – Excessive fluids seeping in the chest cavity.
PROPHYLAXIS – Prevention of or protection from disease.
PROSTRATION – Total exhaustion.
PULMONARY – Related to the lungs.
PULMONARY EDEMA – Excessive fluid in the lungs.
PUSTULES – Swelling of the skin filled with pus.

R
RADIATION – A stream of particles or electromagnetic waves emitted by the atoms and molecules of a radioactive substance as a result of nuclear decay.
RESERVOIR – Any person, animal or substance in which an infective agent normally lives and multiplies. The infectious agent usually depends on the reservoir for survival.
RESPIRATORY – Affecting breathing.
RHINORRHEA – Runny nose.

S
SECONDARY DEVICE – An explosive detonated after a smaller diversionary device.
SEPSIS – The poisoned condition resulting from pathogens or their toxins in blood or tissues.
SHOCK – Massive temporary reaction to serious bodily injury.
SPORE – A microorganism, such as a bacterium, in a resting or dormant state.
SPUTUM – Matter coughed up and usually ejected from the mouth, including saliva, foreign material and substances such as mucus or phlegm, from the respiratory tract.
SUPPURATIVE – The formation or discharge of pus.

T
TOXEMIA – Blood poisoning from infected body cells.
TOXIN – A poisonous substance, especially a protein, produced by living cells or organisms capable of causing disease when introduced into the body tissues.
TRANSMISSION – Any mechanism through which an infectious agent, such as a virus, is spread from a reservoir (source) to a human being.

V
VACCINE – A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen that upon administration stimulates antibody production or cellular immunity against the pathogen but is incapable of causing severe infection.
VACCINATION – An inoculation that protects the body against disease.
VECTOR – An organism that carries germs from one host to another.
VENITILATION – The mechanical system or equipment used to circulate air. Aeration or oxygenation, as of blood.
VENTILATOR – A device that supplies oxygen or a mixture of oxygen and carbon dioxide for breathing.
VESICLE – A blister below the skin that is filled with fluid.
VIRULENT – Extremely poisonous.
VIRUS – A minute infectious agent.

Z
ZOONOTIC (DISEASE OR INFECTION) – An infectious disease that may be transmitted from vertebrate animals (such as rodents) to humans.

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