ABSTRACT
As we saw in previous chapters, we humans live in constant contact with dangerous and potentially dangerous microorganisms. Because they can produce serious illnesses, it is important to know how we can defeat potential pathogens. In the chapters of Part IV we learned about our defense mechanisms. Here in Part V we will learn about methods we use to rid ourselves of infectious organisms. We begin here in Chapter 18 with a discussion of antiseptics, which are chemicals that we can use to prevent the growth of pathogens on our bodies, and disinfectants, which we commonly use to clean inanimate objects. We use disinfectants to keep down the level of microorganisms on those objects, thereby lowering the chances of our picking up some infection as we handle them. We will see that the targets for these chemicals are the same as those used for antibiotics, which will be discussed in Chapter 19.
