DISINFECTANTS AND ANTISEPTICS. 1 93 



CHAPTER VIII. 

 DISINFECTANTS AND ANTISEPTICS.* 



A disinfectant, strictly speaking, is a substance capable of 

 killing bacteria, but the term is now rather loosely applied to 

 substances which inhibit the growth, or merely destroy or .dis- 

 guise, disagreeable odors. It is mainly used for substances 

 employed for sterilizing rooms, cars and the like. 



Sterilization is the term employed for the process of des- 

 troying bacteria by heat or other means. 



A germicide, as its name impHes, is an agent which kills 

 bacteria, and it is restricted to this meaning. 



An antiseptic is a substance capable of preventing the 

 growth and reproduction of bacteria. It differs from a germi- 

 cide in that it simply prevents development without actually 

 killing the bacteria. 



A deodorizer is a substance capable of so changing a nox- 

 ious odor that it is less unpleasant. At the present time the 

 term is usually and properly restricted to those substances 

 which, without germicidal action, simply disguise or destroy an 

 odor. 



Testing Disinfectants and Antiseptics. 

 The determination of the antiseptic value of a material is 

 a comparatively simple matter. A virulent culture of the 

 organism used as a test is inoculated into sterile bouillon con- 

 taining a known quantity of the antiseptic. The process is 

 repeated with varying strengths of the material until the smallest 



* By Thomas B. Carpenter, M.D., Assistant City Bacteriologist, Buffalo, 

 N. Y. 



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