Microbiology
Microbiology (from Greek , "mīkros", "small"; , "bios", "life"; and , "-logia") is the study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, parasitology, mycology and bacteriology.
Aerobiological engineering
Since healthcare facilities can house a number of different types of patients who potentially have weakened immune systems, aerobiological engineering is of significant importance to engineers of hospitals. The aerobiology that concerns designers of hospitals includes viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other microbiological products such as endotoxins, mycotoxins, and microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOC's). Bacteria and viruses, because of their small size, readily become airborne as bacterial aerosols and can remain suspended in the air for hours. Because of this, adequate precautions and mitigation techniques need to be taken with indoor air quality in hospitals dealing with infectious diseases.