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• Abscess

  Abscesses are accumulations of pus that are encapsu­lated from the rest of the body tissue.

• Aerosol

  In medical terms, an aerosol is the mixture of droplets with the air. An aerosol cloud could have a diameter of approximately two meters. After an aerosol exposure to patients with a meningitis infection or with open tuber­culosis, a medical specialist might consider prescribing a medicinal prophylaxis.

• Aeruginosa

  The term “aerugo” comes from the Latin for “verdigris.”

• AIDS

  AIDS stands for “acquired immunodeficiency syn­drome.”

• Alcohols

  Included in this group are ethanol, n-propanol (propan-1-ol), isopropanol (propan-2-ol), methoxyisopropanol (toxic to humans), benzyl alcohol, 1.3-butanediol, and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol.

• Aldehydes

  An aldehyde is an alcohol derived from hydrogen. Includ­ed in this group are formaldehyde (methanal), glutaral­dehyde, 2-ethyl-1-hexanal, glyoxal, o-phtaldialdehyde, and succinaldehyde. Aldehyde derivatives include, e.g., formacetal or polymethyl carbamide derivatives.

• Allergic Potential

  Approximately 60% of all personnel have been affected by skin irritations. Approximately 17% of medical per­sonnel have a latex allergy.

• Amalgam Waste

  Besides deposit remains from amalgam separators, these also are considered to be amalgam waste: amalgam re­mains not used for fillings, extracted teeth with amalgam filling, amalgam remains from secretion containers, fil­ters and sieves, empty mercury bottles, empty amalgam capsules, as well as amalgam-contaminated disposable items such as wadding, wedges, amalgam slime, and amalgam-contaminated connection pipes and hoses.

• Amines

  Included in the group of amines are bis(3-aminopropyl)dodecylamine, n-cocospropylendiammonium borate, do­decylamine sulfamate, n-3-dodecylaminopropylglycine, n-dodecyl-n(3-aminopropyl) 1.3-prpandiamine, gluco­proatmine.

• Angina

  An example of an angina is the inflammation of the ton­sils (tonsillitis). Symptoms include sore throat, pain when swallowing, fever, and a strong feeling of sickness.

• Anti-Viral Agents

  Anti-viral agents are medication used to fight viruses. They can slow the creation of DNA and RNA, which ef­fectively slows the reproductive processes of the viruses. They can also help prevent viruses from even entering the host cells.

• Antibiotic Resistance

  This means that antibiotics have no effect against bacte­ria – certain resilient strains of bacteria have developed this trait. When treating resistant bacteria, the use of one or more antibiotics does not result in the death or growth inhabitation of the bacteria.

• Antibiotics

  Antibiotics are metabolites of fungi or bacteria that can be used to curb the growth of other microorganisms or to simply kill them. Antiviral and antifungal drugs refer to medications used against viral and fungal infections, respectively.

• Antigen

  An antigen is a structure on the cell-surface of a patho­gen.

• Antisepsis

  For antiseptic measures, antimicrobial substances (anti­septics) are used to reduce the germ contamination in saliva and on the mucous membrane. This aids in the preventative fight against germs.

• Antiseptic

  Possible antiseptics are 0.3% Chlorhexidine, 0.1% Octenidine, 0.3% Tosylchloramide sodium, or 7.5% PVP iodine. If a contamination of HBV or HCV is suspected, ethanol at a concentration of over 80% can be used.

• Apparent Disease

  In medical terms, a disease is apparent if it can be no­ticed in any way.

• Asexual Reproduction

  During asexual reproduction, the cell splits down the middle into two halves (daughter cells), which can then asexually reproduce further.

• Aspergillosis

  Aspergillosis is an infection by molds, usually by Asper­gillus fumigatus. The places of disease are the skin, ears, sinuses, and lungs.

• Aspergillus fumigatus

  Aspergillus fumigatus is the pathogen that causes various diseases such as allergic asthma, coughing, or wheezing. If the fungus is spread throughout the body via the bloodstream, the disease aspergillosis can arise.

• Aspergillus niger

  Aspergillus niger can cause a multitude of problems and diseases such as allergies and infections of the skin, in­fections of the outer ear canal, Aspergillosis, inflamma­tion of the abdominal membrane, inflammation of the endocardium, as well as diseases of the nails.

• Autoimmune Disease

  This is a general term for all diseases that arise due to in­correct information of the immune system. The immune system inadvertently identifies the body’s own cells as foreign bodies. This results in serious inflammation reac­tions that can lead to damage of the afflicted organ or system. Today, there are approximately 60 known auto­immune diseases.

• Avian Flu

  Transmission of the H5N1 virus is most likely to occur through close contact with infected birds. The symptoms are considerably more pronounced than by a “normal” flu. Signs of the illness are a high fever, diarrhea, vom­iting, chest and stomach pains, nosebleeds, and later meningitis and a serious disease of the airway that often develops into pneumonia.