Autoclave

Definition: Autoclave

Autoclave

Noun

1. A tank-like device for heating substances above their boiling point; used to manufacture chemicals or sterilize surgical instruments.

Verb

1. Subject to the action of an autoclave.

Etymology: Autoclave \Au"to*clave\, noun. [French expression, from the Greek expression a'yto`s self Latin clavis key.]. (Websters 1913)

Domain	Definition
Mechanical Engineering	A pressure vessel in which temperature and pressure can be controlled. Source: European Union. (references)
Medicine	Apparatus using superheated steam under pressure. Source: European Union. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

An autoclave is a device that uses steam to sterilise equipment and other objects. This means that all bacteria, viruses, fungi, and spores are inactivated. (Prions are not necessary destroyed.) However, in 2003 scientists discovered a single-cell organism (Strain 121) that survives autoclave temperatures. [1].

Autoclaves work by allowing steam to enter, and maintaining pressure at 15 psi. This causes the steam to reach 121°C, and this is maintained for at least 15 minutes.

The high pressure means autoclaves are constructed of strong metal, and are shut very tightly and securely.

Autoclaves are found in hospitals, microbiology labs, and other places that need to ensure sterility of an object.

Because damp heat is used, heat labile products (such as plastics) cannot be sterilised this way or they will melt. Some paper, or other products that may be damaged by the steam, should also be sterilised another way.

Autoclave quality assurance

There are physical, chemical and biological indicators that can be used to ensure an autoclave reached the correct temperature for the correct amount of time.

Chemical indicators, can be found on medical packaging and autoclave tape, and these change colour once the correct conditions have been met. This indicates that the object inside the package, or under the tape, has been autoclaved sufficiently.

Biological indicators include Attest devices. These contain spores of a heat resistant bacterium. If the autoclave did not reach the right temperature, the spores will germinate, and their metabolism will change the colour of a pH-sensitive chemical.

Physical indicators often consist of an alloy designed to melt only after being subjected to 121°C for 15 minutes. If the metal has melted, the change will be visible.

As well as these separate indicators, autoclaves have temperature and pressure gauges visible from the outside.

Synonyms: Autoclave

Synonyms: steriliser (n), sterilizer (n). (additional references)

Crosswords: Autoclave

English words defined with "autoclave": digester ♦ pressure cooker. (references)

Specialty definitions using "autoclave": ACETYLENE-CYLINDER-PACKING MIXER, AUTOCLAVE OPERATOR, AUTOCLAVE OPERATOR I, AUTOCLAVE OPERATOR II, autoclave-resistant factor ♦ bonding equipment operator ♦ central-service technician, CENTRAL-SUPPLY WORKER, CLEANER, LABORATORY EQUIPMENT, compounder, sterile products ♦ DESULFURIZER OPERATOR ♦ equipment washer ♦ FOOD TESTER ♦ gas desulphurizer ♦ hose builder, HOSE MAKER ♦ laboratory aide, laboratory assistant, laboratory helper, laborer, laboratory ♦ NURSE, LICENSED PRACTICAL, NURSE, PRACTICAL ♦ pressure leaching ♦ RUBBER-GOODS REPAIRER ♦ STEAM-TANK OPERATOR, STERILE-PRODUCTS PROCESSOR ♦ tester helper ♦ UTILITY WORKER, PRODUCTION, utility worker, virus ♦ vacuum-forming-machine operator. (references)

Non-English Usage: "Autoclave" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses.

French (autoclave), Italian (autoclave), Portuguese (autoclave, curing pan, pan, steam-driven sterilizer, sterilizer, vulcanization pan, vulcanizer), Spanish (autoclave).

Domain	Title
Books	Smart Autoclave Cure of Composites (reference) (more book examples)

Music	Autoclave (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Walk-in autoclave with Mr. Loftin. Credit: CDC.		U.S. Naval Hospital, Corona, CA. : Main autoclave, Central Supply Office. Credit: National Library of Medicine.
	Providence Hospital, Washington, D.C. : Central Supply, Autoclave. Credit: National Library of Medicine.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		Soak instruments that have come in contact with the patient in undiluted chlorine bleach for an hour or more, then use an autoclave (pressure cooker) to sterilize them in distilled water for at least one hour at 132 - 134 degrees Centigrade. (references)
Economic History	India	Technology needs in this sub-sector include, microwave, autoclave, hydroclave and advanced incineration systems. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

"Autoclave" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Autoclave" is used about 4 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	100%	4	175,879

Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "autoclave": autoclave-resistant factor.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "autoclave"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		autoklavë. (various references)

Arabic		‏المحم وعاء معدني للتعقيم. (various references)

Bulgarian		автоклава. (various references)

Chinese		压热器. (various references)

Danish		autoklaveaffedtningsapparat (apparatus for scouring in autoclaves, pressure kier), autoklave (chamber, digester, digestion chamber, digestion tank, digestor, methane digester, sludge digestion chamber, sludge digestion compartment, sludge digestion tank, sludge-digestion compartment, steam-driven sterilizer), autoklav, autiklavere. (various references)

Dutch		autoclaaf (chamber, digester, digestion chamber, digestion tank, digestor, methane digester, sludge digestion chamber, sludge digestion compartment, sludge digestion tank, sludge-digestion compartment, steam-driven sterilizer), stomen (chemical cleaning, dry cleaning), papiniaanse pot (digester, digestion chamber, digestion tank, digestor, methane digester, sludge digestion chamber, sludge digestion compartment, sludge digestion tank, sludge-digestion compartment, steam-driven sterilizer), drukvat. (various references)

Finnish		autoklaavi (curing pan, vulcanization pan, vulcanizer), painepannu puuvillan keittoon (apparatus for scouring in autoclaves, pressure kier), painepannu (apparatus for scouring in autoclaves, pressure kier). (various references)

French		autoclave. (various references)

German		Dampfkochtopf (pressure cooker, steamer). (various references)

Greek		αυτόκλειστο (apparatus for scouring in autoclaves, pressure kier, steam-driven sterilizer). (various references)

Hebrew		�"ו�" לחץ. (various references)

Hungarian		autokláv. (various references)

Italian		autoclave (steam-driven sterilizer). (various references)

Pig Latin		autoclaveay

Portuguese		autoclave (pan, sterilizer). (various references)

Romanian		autoclavã. (various references)

Russian		автоклав (canner, digester). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		autoklav. (various references)

Spanish		autoclave (apparatus for scouring in autoclaves, pressure kier, steam-driven sterilizer). (various references)

Swedish		autoklav. (various references)

Turkish		sterilizatör (sterilizer), otoklav. (various references)

Ukrainian		автоклав. (various references)

Vietnamese		n�"i hấp. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "autoclave": autoclaved, autoclaves. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Autoclave" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: autolite. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "autoclave" (pronounced ô"tōklā'v)
4	-k l ā' v	conclave, enclave.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Direct Anagrams: vacuolate.
	Words within the letters "a-a-c-e-l-o-t-u-v"
	-2 letters: clavate, coaeval, octaval, ovulate, vacuole, valuate.
	-3 letters: acetal, actual, acuate, alcove, avocet, catalo, caveat, coeval, coteau, locate, octave, vacate, valuta, volute.
	-4 letters: aceta, acute, alate, calve, clave, cleat, clout, clove, coala, covet, culet, eclat, laevo, lovat, lutea, octal, ovate, ovule, uveal, vacua, valet, value, vault, vocal, volta, volte.
	-5 letters: acta, alae, alec, aloe, alto.
	Words containing the letters "a-a-c-e-l-o-t-u-v"
	+1 letter: autoclaved, autoclaves, vacuolated.
	+5 letters: overarticulate, overparticular.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
autoclave	456	autoclave part	3
autoclave efficiency testing	42	autoclave hirayama	3
autoclave constant dielectric point testing	37	autoclave deck point test	3
autoclave engineer	22	autoclave picture	3
used autoclave	21	autoclave tape	3
autoclave validation	15	tattoo autoclave	3
autoclave test validation	13	autoclave emissions	3
autoclave hi pressure valve	11	autoclave disk wipe	3
autoclave bag	10	autoclave drying function vacuum	2
autoclave manufacturer	7	autoclave vertical	2
prestige autoclave	7	composite autoclave	2
autoclave sterilizer	6	autoclave composite used	2
autoclave fitting	5	midmark autoclave	2
autoclave sterilization	5	autoclave pouch	2
steam autoclave	4	american autoclave	2
autoclave repair	4	autoclave lyrics	2
tuttnauer autoclave	4	autoclave del manual	2
pelton and crane autoclave	4	air autoclave composite used	2
autoclave sale	4	american autoclave company	2
ritter autoclave	3	autoclave laboratorio para	2
autoclave engineering	3	autoclave vente	2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Autoclave

Definition: Autoclave

Autoclave

Noun

Verb

Specialty Definition: Autoclave

Specialty Definition: Autoclave

Synonyms: Autoclave

Crosswords: Autoclave

Commercial Usage: Autoclave

Books

Music

Photo Album: Autoclave

Non-Fiction Usage: Autoclave

Usage Frequency: Autoclave

Expression: Autoclave

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Autoclave

Modern Translation: Autoclave

Albanian

Arabic

Bulgarian

Chinese

Danish

Dutch

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hungarian

Italian

Pig Latin

Portuguese

Romanian

Russian

Serbo-Croatian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Ukrainian

Vietnamese

Derivations & Misspellings: Autoclave

Derivations

Misspellings

Rhyming with "Autoclave"

Anagrams: Autoclave

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

INDEX