autoclave
Meaning of autoclave: An autoclave sterilizes medical and laboratory equipment using pressurized steam at temperatures high enough to destroy microorganisms and their spores.
Definition of autoclave
An autoclave is a device that sterilizes equipment and supplies using steam under high pressure. By raising the pressure inside a sealed chamber, an autoclave allows steam to reach a temperature well above the normal boiling point of water, a level of heat needed to destroy bacteria, viruses, and resistant bacterial spores that ordinary boiling water cannot reliably eliminate.
Items placed inside an autoclave are exposed to this pressurized steam for a set period of time, after which they are considered sterile, meaning free of living microorganisms, provided the cycle was completed correctly and the items were properly prepared beforehand.
Autoclaves are widely used in hospitals, dental offices, and laboratories to sterilize reusable surgical instruments and other equipment between uses, and indicators are typically used alongside each cycle to confirm that the necessary temperature and pressure were actually reached.
Used in a sentence
Surgical instruments were sterilized in the autoclave before the next procedure.
Good to know
An autoclave's sterilizing effect depends on steam reaching every surface of an instrument, so equipment must be properly cleaned and arranged beforehand, since debris or improper loading can shield microorganisms from the steam.
Word origin
Where “autoclave” comes from
Formed from Greek autos, meaning self, and Latin clavis, meaning key, reflecting the device's original self locking, pressure sealed design.