Drug, anti-infective
Drug, anti-infective: Something capable of acting against infection, by inhibiting the spread of an infectious agent or by killing the infectious agent outright.
Anti-infective is a general term that encompasses antibacterials, antibiotics, antifungals, antiprotozoans and antivirals.
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- Drug, antibiotic
Drug, antibiotic: A drug used to treat bacterial infections. The original definition of an antibiotic was a substance produced by one microorganism that selectively inhibits the growth of another microorganism. However, wholly synthetic antibiotics (usually chemically related to natural antibiotics) have since been produced that accomplish comparable tasks. In 1926, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, a […]
- Drug, antifungal
Drug, antifungal: A drug used to treat fungal infections. Examples of antifungal drugs include miconazole (MONISTAT) and clotrimazole (LOTRIMIN, MYCELEX).
- Drug, antihypertensive
Drug, antihypertensive: As the name clearly implies, a drug aimed at reducing high blood pressure (hypertension).
- Drug, antiprotozoal
Drug, antiprotozoal: Something that destroys protozoa or inhibits their growth and ability to reproduce. A few of the protozoa of medical importance include Plasmodium (the cause of malaria); Entamoeba histolytica (the cause of amebiasis, amebic dysentery) and Trichomonas vaginalis (a cause of vaginal infection); and Pneumocystis carinii (a common cause of pneumonia [PCP] in immunodeficient […]
- Drug, antimicrobial
Drug, antimicrobial: A drug used to treat a microbial infection. The term “antimicrobial” is a general one that refers to a group of drugs that includes antibiotics, antifungals, antiprotozoals, and antivirals.