This article by the Department of Army is on proper handling and sterilizing of medical, dental as well as veterinary surgical instruments and material. Used within the Department of Army as guide on their health care facilities, it aims to provide policies, personnel responsible as well as the different methods of sterilization with the purpose of providing quality assurance of sterility of medical, dental and veterinary surgical instruments as well as delivering supplies in sterile state.

Also covered in this article are processes involved during and after sterilization, from handling to storing of medical, dental, surgical materials, also included are veterinary surgical instruments and materials.

Section I - covers purpose of the article, a summary of the bulletin, terms and abbreviation used and, personnel in which this article is intended to.

Section II - is on processing of supplies:

The article starts from the importance of maintaining a clean working environment which ensures item and materials will be sterilized, to the designation and separation and installation of barriers separating the cleaning process (known as the centralized material services or CMS) from other departments.

Packing - on maintaining the sterile state of the instrument and material. Packing encompasses provision for easy removal of item avoiding contamination to handling of items that can be reused and washed.

Sterilizing of surgical instruments. From the use of saturated steam under pressure which is preferred type for sterilization only if material or item permits (with reference to guidelines under FM 8-38) and the type of steam sterilizers available, to using chemical like Ethylene Oxide (EO) to Formaldehyde and, when to use dry heat for sterilizing.

Sterilization process monitoring is also discussed. Included in this section are the uses and limitation of a chemical monitor. Chemical monitors are devices which can either physical or chemical in nature, which is used to check packaging, loading integrity and sterilizer function. Also under sterilization process monitoring is the use of biological testing, load control and expiration identification. Expiration identification is used when items subjected to the sterilizing procedure are to bear a control number consisting of six digits for tracking and monitoring.

Equipment monitoring covers the use of Bowie Dick type test on steam sterilizers and mechanical process control monitors which uses time and temperature to check condition and gauges to monitor temperature.Read more on this topic