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Antimicrobial. An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms (microbicide) or stops their growth (bacteriostatic agent). [1] Antimicrobial medicines can be grouped according to the microorganisms they act primarily against. For example, antibiotics are used against bacteria, and antifungals are used against fungi.
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of such infections. [1][2] They may either kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Antibiotics only work for bacteria and do not affect viruses. Antibiotics work by slowing down the multiplication of bacteria or killing the bacteria. The most common classes of antibiotics used in medicine include penicillin , cephalosporins , aminoglycosides , macrolides , quinolones and tetracyclines .
Antimicrobial peptides have been demonstrated to kill Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria, [1] enveloped viruses, fungi and even transformed or cancerous cells. [2] Unlike the majority of conventional antibiotics it appears that antimicrobial peptides frequently destabilize biological membranes , can form transmembrane channels , and may ...
[3] [43] Once the bacteria have entered the bloodstream, they can infect various organs, causing infective endocarditis, septic arthritis, and osteomyelitis. [43] This disease is particularly prevalent and severe in the very young and very old. [3] Without antibiotic treatment, S. aureus bacteremia has a case fatality rate around 80%. [3]
Infectious disease – illness or disorder when pathogenic (disease-causing) microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites invade and multiply within the body of a host organism and release toxins, causing various clinical symptoms which can potentially lead to severe health complications or even death.
Medical microbiology. A microbiologist examining cultures under a dissecting microscope. Medical microbiology, the large subset of microbiology that is applied to medicine, is a branch of medical science concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. In addition, this field of science studies various clinical ...
Penicillin can easily enter bacterial cells in the case of Gram-positive species. This is because Gram-positive bacteria do not have an outer cell membrane and are simply enclosed in a thick cell wall. [45] Penicillin molecules are small enough to pass through the spaces of glycoproteins in the cell wall.