antibacterial /an·ti·bac·te·ri·al/ (-bak-tēr´e-al) destroying or suppressing growth or reproduction of bacteria; also, an agent that does this.
antibacterial
antibacterial
an·ti·bac·te·ri·al ( n t -bk-tîr - l, nt -)adj. Destroying or inhibiting the growth of bacteria. an ti·bac·teri·al n. |
antibacterial
[-baktir′ē·əl]
Etymology: Gk, anti + bakterion, small staff
1 pertaining to a substance that kills bacteria or inhibits their growth or replication.
2 an antibacterial agent. Antibiotics synthesized chemically or derived from various microorganisms exert their bactericidal or bacteriostatic effect by interfering with the production of the bacterial plasma wall; by interfering with protein synthesis, nucleic acid synthesis, or plasma membrane integrity; or by inhibiting critical biosynthetic pathways in the bacteria.
antibacterial
1. destroying or suppressing the growth or reproduction of bacteria.
2. an agent having such properties.
antibacterial agents
drugs that destroy or inhibit the growth of bacteria in concentrations that are safe for the host and can be used as chemotherapeutic agents to prevent or treat bacterial infections.
antibacterial resistance
consists of genetic factors, hormone levels, nutritional status, tissue enzymes, complement, interferon and immune mechanisms.
antibacterial sensitivity test
see antimicrobial sensitivity test.
antibacterial withdrawal time
the period that must elapse after treatment with an antibacterial agent ceases before the animal or its products can be marketed. Veterinarians who practice food animal medicine have a great responsibility to ensure that food of animal origin complies with pure food laws relating to their acceptable levels of drug residues. Drugs not registered for animal use should not be used and, for those that are, the legal withdrawal times must be observed.
antibacterial withholding
see antibiotic withdrawal time (above).
antibiotic
1. Pertaining to the ability to destroy or inhibit other living organisms.
2. A substance derived from a mould or bacterium, or produced synthetically, that destroys (bactericidal) or inhibits the growth (bacteriostatic) of other microorganisms and is thus used to treat infections. Some substances have a narrow spectrum of activity whereas others act against a wide range of both gram-positive and gram-negative organisms (broad-spectrum antibiotics). Antibiotics can be classified into several groups according to their mode of action on or within bacteria: (1) Drugs inhibiting bacterial cell wall synthesis, such as bacitracin, vancomycin and the β-lactams based agents (e.g. penicillin, cephalosporins (e.g. ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cefuroxime). (2) Drugs affecting the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane, such as polymyxin B sulfate and gramicidin. (3) Drugs inhibiting bacterial protein synthesis, such as aminoglycosides (e.g. amikacin sulfate, framycetin sulfate, gentamicin, neomycin sulfate and tobramycin), tetracyclines, macrolides (e.g. erythromycin and azithromycin) and chloramphenicol. (4) Drugs inhibiting the intermediate metabolism of bacteria, such as sulfonamides (e.g. sulfacetamide sodium) and trimethoprim. (5) Drugs inhibiting bacterial DNA synthesis, such as nalixidic acid and fluoroquinolones (e.g. ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, norfloxacin and ofloxacin). (6) Other antibiotics such as fusidic acid, the diamidines, such as propamidine isethionate and dibrompropamidine. Syn. antibacterial. See antiinflammatory drug; fusidic acid.
antibacterial
adjective Referring to an agent or effect that suppresses or inhibits bacterial reproduction noun A general term for any agent that suppresses bacterial growth or destroys bacteria
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