Autoclave Charles Chamberland in 1884, although a precursor known as the steam digester was created by Denis Papin in 1679. The name comes from Greek "auto-", ultimately meaning self, and Latin "clavis" meaning key, thus a self-locking device. Sterilization autoclaves are widely used in microbiology, medicine, podiatry, tattooing, body piercing, veterinary medicine, mycology, funerary practice, dentistry, and prosthetics fabrication. They vary in size and function depending on the media to be sterilized and are sometimes called retort in the chemical and food industries. Typical loads include laboratory glassware, other equipment and waste, surgical instruments, and medical waste. A notable recent and
Moist heat sterilization Moist heat sterilization Moist heat sterilization describes sterilization techniques that utilize hot air that is heavily laden with water vapor and where this moisture plays the most important role in the sterilization. Heating an article is one of the earliest forms of sterilization practiced. The various procedures used to perform moist heat sterilization process cause destruction of micro-organisms by denaturation of macromolecules. Heating an article is one of the earliest forms of sterilization practiced. Moist heat sterilization processes sterilize using hot air that is heavily laden with water vapor, which plays the most important role in the sterilization. Boiling a