Definition of "asepsis" [a•sep•sis]

• The state of being free of pathogenic microorganisms. (noun)
• The process of removing pathogenic microorganisms or protecting against infection by such organisms. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Vulvovaginitis is a very contagious disease, and before the days of hospital asepsis, which is so perfectly maintained today in our large institutions, this disease used to go right through a children's ward because of carelessness in the handling of soiled diapers, etc. The sign of this disease is a yellow-white vaginal discharge, while the surrounding skin covering the inside of the thighs and buttocks may be very much reddened."
• "We are not questioning the value of asepsis, which is only a learned phrase to express absolute surgical cleanliness."
• "By the 1880s, antisepsis had been superseded by asepsis, which involved the scrupulous attention to maintaining sterile operating conditions."