Microbiology and Pathology
Microorganisms
You must be able to classify bacteria, viruses, fungi and prions; describe bacterial structure, Gram staining and spore formation; and explain growth requirements such as moisture, warmth and nutrients. Learn the chain of infection: infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry and susceptible host. Break any link and transmission stops. Apply this to the mortuary: the body is a reservoir, drainage fluid is a portal of exit, and your hands, instruments or an aerosol are the mode of transmission.
Decomposition and disinfection
Gut flora translocate after death and drive putrefaction. Distinguish disinfection (reduces or destroys most organisms on inanimate objects) from sterilisation (destroys all organisms including spores). Prions resist conventional disinfection and require specific prion protocols.
Pathology
Know the difference between cause of death and manner of death, the main post-mortem changes and their timing, and common disease processes you will meet: atherosclerosis, pneumonia, cancer, tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Traps
Colonisation and infection are not the same; alcohol-based products do not kill spores; wipes labelled 'sterile' rarely are; and 'disinfected' does not mean 'sterile'.
Rule of thumb
Use about 1,000 ppm available chlorine for general surfaces and 10,000 ppm for blood or body-fluid spills, allowing the stated contact time before wiping.