(microbiology) An antibiotic that is effective against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial species.
On this page
McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Dictionary:
broad-spectrum antibiotic |
(microbiology) An antibiotic that is effective against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial species.
|
Featured Videos:
|
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary:
broad spectrum antibiotic |
An antibiotic having a wide range of activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms.
Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry:
broad-spectrum antibiotic |
| broad host range, bridging ligand, bridgehead | |
| brom+, bromelain, bromination |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Broad-spectrum antibiotic |
The term broad-spectrum antibiotic refers to an antibiotic that acts against a wide range of disease-causing bacteria[1]. A broad-spectrum antibiotic acts against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, in contrast to a narrow-spectrum antibiotic, which is effective against specific families of bacteria[2]. An example of a commonly used broad-spectrum antibiotic is ampicillin.[3]
|
Contents
|
Broad-spectrum antibiotics are properly used in the following medical situations:
As a side-effect, antibiotics can change the body's normal microbial content by attacking indiscriminately both the pathological and naturally-occurring, beneficial or harmless bacteria found in the intestines, lungs and bladder[4]. The destruction of the body's normal bacterial flora provides an opportunity for drug-resistant microorganisms to grow vigorously and can lead to a secondary infection such as Clostridium difficile[5] (also known as "C. diff") or Candidiasis (also known as "thrush") in females. This side-effect is more likely with the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics[6].
In medicine:
In veterinary medicine, Co-amoxiclav, (in small animals); penicillin & streptomycin and oxytetracycline (in farm animals); penicillin and potentiated sulfonamides (in horses).
Others:
Slightly-Broad:
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| Chloromycetin | |
| pivampicillin | |
| gentamicin (microbiology) |
| What are the the broad spectrum antibiotics? Read answer... | |
| Is streptomycin a broad spectrum antibiotic? Read answer... | |
| What are broad and narrow-spectrum antibiotics? Read answer... |
| Is erythromycin is broad spectrum antibiotics? | |
| What are some broad spectrum antibiotics? | |
| Why Antibiotics are classed as broad spectrum? |
Copyrights:
![]() |
![]() | McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Dictionary. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
![]() |
![]() | American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Read more |
| Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry. Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology © 1997, 2000, 2006 All rights reserved. Read more | ||
![]() |
![]() | Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Broad-spectrum antibiotic. Read more |
Mentioned in