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penicillin Definition

peni·cil·lin (pen′i sil′in)

noun

any of a group of isomeric, antibiotic compounds with the general formula CHNOSR, obtained from the filtrates of certain molds (esp., Penicillium notatum and P. chrysogenum) or produced synthetically

Etymology: < penicillium + -in

penicillin Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • discover: Alexander Fleming, born in Ayrshire, Scotland, discovered penicillin.
  • prescribe: So I've been prescribed penicillin to get rid of it.
  • produce: Penicillium expansum [ 1 ] Does not produce penicillin; causes disease in apples.
  • give: Years later he had a very sick patient and since he had nothing else to try, gave the penicillin.
  • develop: Florey and Chain, as mentioned, developed penicillin.
  • include: This has lead to near catastrophic delays in recognizing the harm of smoking to humans or the benefits of certain drugs including penicillin.

Preposition: for

infection: The doctor thought Christopher was showing the symptoms of flu but he also prescribed penicillin for the infection in his arm.

Adjective modifier

  • antibiotic: This is the observation by which the antibiotic penicillin was discovered.
  • e.g.: Medicine has used natural product drugs for many years e.g. penicillin.
  • injectable: Injectable penicillin has been used successfully for many years to treat rabbits with vent disease ( rabbit syphilis ) with no apparent problems.
  • enough: By 1944, doctors had enough penicillin to treat all the allied forces wounded in the D Day invasion of Europe.

Modifies a noun

  • allergy: Erythromycin is an alternative to penicillin for people who have a penicillin allergy.
  • V: It is also possible to produce branded penicillin with penicillin V, which does not require Phenylacetic Acid.
  • injection: This will soon clear up with the penicillin injections I am taking daily.
  • resistance: The host is the pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, which thereby gains penicillin resistance.
  • antibiotic: All penicillin type antibiotics operate by inhibiting the production of cell walls by bacteria, which therefore prevents growth.
  • family: Doctors use drugs from the penicillin family to treat anthrax in the early stages.

Noun used with modifier

  • benzyl: For suspected meningitis the drug of choice is benzyl penicillin.. .
  • antibiotic: Alexander Fleming discovered what was to be one of the most powerful of all antibiotics penicillin.
  • broad-spectrum: The antibiotics most often leading to antibiotic-associated colitis are broad-spectrum penicillins, cephalosporins and clindamycin.