Use the glossary to find specific definitions of terms or to expand your knowledge on hygiene and infection control.
You will come across a lot of technical terms in your practice. With the help of our glossary, you can look up everything you need to know about relevant terms from the field of infection prevention. We explain hygiene terms that are important for the practice and understanding of infection prevention in alphabetical order. You can use the glossary to find specific definitions of terms or to expand your knowledge of hygiene and infection prevention. No matter how you use our glossary, you will be well equipped for your daily work in the hospital.
Search and find specific terms in the glossary.
AAD
Acceptable Quality Level (AQL)
Activity/Efficacy
Adenovirus
Aerobe/aerobic
Agar
AIDS
Airborne droplet nuclei
Airborne infection
Albumin
Alcohols
Aldehydes
Alkylamines
AMG
Anaerobe/anaerobic
Anthrax
antibacterial
Antibiotic resistance
Antibody
Antigen
antimicrobial
Antisepsis
AOX
Asepsis
ATCC strains
Authorisation as medicinal product
Autoclaving (steam sterilisation)
Campylobacter spp.
Candida albicans
Capsid
Carrier
CDAD
CDC
CEN
Central Sterilisation
CFU
Chain of infection
Chlorhexidine
clean conditions
Cleaning
Clostridioides difficile
cMRSA
CO2
COD
Cold sterilisation
COLIPA
Colonisation
Compliance
Concentration of microorganisms
Contact germs
Contact infection
Contact-plate sampling
COVID-19
Cosmetics
Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (CJD)
Cross contamination
Culture medium
Cytotoxicity
HACCP
Haemolytic uraemic syndrome
Hand disinfection
Hand hygiene
Hazardous goods regulations
Hazardous substances labelling
Hazardous to the environment
Helicobacter pylori
Hepatitis A virus (HAV)
Hepatitis B virus (HBV)
Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
Herpes simplex virus (HSV)
HIV
HIV post-exposition prophylaxis
Hot air sterilisation
Hygiene plan
Hygienic hand disinfection
Hygienic handwashing
Pandemic
Papovaviridae
Parasitic infection
Pasteurisation
PCR
Peracetic acid
Persistence
Personnel hygiene
pH value
Pharmacy-only medicines
Phosphoric acid
Poliovirus
Polyomavirus (SV 40)
Practical testing
Prescription-only medicines
Prevalence
Prevention
Primary bloodstream infection
Professional Association
Propanol
Protein denaturation
Protein error
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
pyogenic
Safety data sheet
Salmonella
SARS-CoV-2
SARS
Screening
Secondary infection
Sensitisation
Sepsis
Sewage sludge toxicity
Significance
Skin compatibility of hand disinfectants
Skin poor in sebaceous glands
Skin protection
Skin rich in sebaceous glands
Smallpox (Variola)
Smear infection
Soap error
Social hygiene
Sporicidal activity
Standardised marketing authorisation
Standing times
Staphylococci
Sterilisation
Streptococci
Superinfection
Surface Cleaning
Surface disinfection
Surface-active compounds
Surfactants
Surgical contamination classes
Surgical hand disinfection
Surgical Site Infection
Surrogate-virus
Surveillance
Suspension test
Sustained acitivity