1. Keep It Clean peer.tamu.edu In cooperation with:
The Emma Barnsley Foundation
The PEER Program at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
peer.tamu.edu

2. Homeostasis
The ability of the body to maintain internal stability or balance
Inability to maintain homeostasis may lead to disease or death

3. Are You in Balance?
What are some ways your body maintains homeostasis?

4. Microorganism Microscopic organisms Present everywhere
Bacteria, protozoa, fungi, algae, viruses
Present everywhere
Bodies, soil, atmosphere, ocean, Antarctica…
Beneficial or detrimental
Nutrient cycling, food preparation, nutrient absorption, pathogenic

5. Microorganisms & Disease
Pathogen - a micro-organism that has the potential to cause disease
Infection - the invasion and multiplication of pathogenic microbes
Disease - infection causes damage to the individual’s vital functions or systems
homeostatic imbalance

6. Microorganisms & Disease
Respiratory tract (mouth and nose)
Breaks in the skin surface
Gastrointestinal tract (mouth oral cavity)
To cause an infection, microbes must enter our bodies
portals of entry
Urogenital tract

7. Microorganisms & Disease
To make us ill microbes have to:
Reach their target site
Attach to the target site
Multiply rapidly
Obtain nutrients from the host
Avoid and survive attack by host’s immune system

8. Aseptic Technique
A procedure used by medical staff to prevent the spread of pathogens
Achieve asepsis (the state of being free from disease causing contaminants)

9. This is a Test!
Fiona has come to the Texas A&M Small Animal Teaching Hospital to be spayed. Which image illustrates the mostly likely source of contamination during her surgery?
Surgical Instruments
Fiona
Surgeon

10. Shave hair from the surgical site
Patient
Shave hair from the surgical site
Apply sterile drapes around the surgical site
Cleanse with a disinfectant containing iodine, alcohol, or chlorhexidine gluconate
Most comon source of pathogens

11. Surgical Team Hand washing/surgical scrub
special antimicrobial soap on hands and forearms
2 – 5 minutes of scrubbing

12. Surgical Team Sterile clothing
Gloves, face masks, goggles, and transparent eye/face shields
serve as barriers against microorganisms
Cover facial hair, tuck hair in cap, remove jewelry
Dress with deliberate care to avoid touching external, sterile surfaces with non-sterile objects
Personnel assist the surgeon

13. Equipment
Surgical instruments - sterilized by chemical treatment, radiation, gas, or heat
Ensure sterility by checking sterility indicators and that packages are dry and intact
Never re-use disposable equipment
Syringes

14. Environment
Contains potential hazards that may spread pathogens through movement, touch, or proximity
Restrict traffic in the sterile field
Maintain positive-pressure airflow (to prevent air from contaminated areas from entering the sterile field)

15. What About Your Environment?
Look around your classroom and identify items that might help achieve asepsis.

16. Questions?