Chapter 12 Drugs, Microbes, Host - The Elements of Chemotherapy

Practice vocabulary flashcards focused on the key terms and definitions from Chapter 12 of Talaro's Foundations in Microbiology regarding drugs, microbes, and chemotherapy.

Antisepsis

Chemicals applied to body surfaces to destroy or inhibit vegetative pathogens.

Sterilization

The complete removal or destruction of all viable microorganisms.

Disinfection

The destruction or removal of vegetative pathogens but not bacterial endospores.

Chemotherapy

The treatment of disease using chemical agents.

Antimicrobial chemotherapy

The use of chemicals in or on the body to treat disease associated with microorganisms.

Selective toxicity

The ability of a drug to kill or inhibit a pathogen while damaging the host as little as possible.

Therapeutic index

The ratio of the toxic dose to the therapeutic dose of a drug.

Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC)

The smallest concentration of drug that visibly inhibits microbial growth.

Narrow-spectrum drugs

Effective on a small range of microbes.

Broad-spectrum drugs

Effective against a wide variety of microbial types.

Cidal drugs

Drugs that kill microbes.

Static drugs

Drugs that inhibit the growth of microbes.

Beta-lactam drugs

Antimicrobials that interfere with cell wall synthesis, including penicillins and cephalosporins.

Quinolones/Fluoroquinolones

Drugs that inhibit bacterial DNA gyrase and topoisomerase II.

Polyenes

Antifungal agents like amphotericin B that target ergosterol in fungal cell membranes.

Rifamycins

Drugs that inhibit bacterial RNA polymerase.

Sulfonamides

Metabolic antagonists that interfere with folic acid synthesis.

Trimethoprim

A synthetic antibiotic that interferes with folic acid production.

Antibiotic,

Natural or synthetic substances that can inhibit or kill bacterial growth.

Peptidoglycan

A polymer consisting of sugars and amino acids that makes up the bacterial cell wall.

Mechanisms of Drug Action

Targeting cell wall synthesis, cell membrane function, DNA/RNA functions, protein synthesis, and metabolic pathways.