Penicillin

Definition: Penicillin

Penicillin

Noun

1. Any of various antibiotics obtained from penicillium molds (or produced synthetically) and used in the treatment of various infections and diseases.

Date "penicillin" was first used: 1929. (references)

Specialty Definitions: Penicillin

Domain	Definitions
Health	An antibiotic drug used to treat infection. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Penicillin

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Penicillin is an antibiotic produced by the Penicillium notatum mold. It was discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming who noticed that a halo of inhibition of bacterial growth in a culture of Staphylococcus around a contaminant blue-green mould. From the culture plate, Fleming concluded that the mould was releasing a substance that was inhibiting bacterial growth. He grew a pure culture and discovered that the fungus was Penicillum notatum - he later named the bacterial inhibiting substance penicillin after the Penicillum notatum that released it. It would prove to be the discovery that changed modern medicine.

Its chemical structure was determined by Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, enabling synthetic production. American scientists Ernst Boris Chain and Australian Howard Walter Florey, who created a method for mass producing the drug, shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in medicine with Fleming. It has since become the most widely used antibiotic to date and is still used for many Gram-positive bacterial infections.

Penicillin and Penicillin derivatives work by inhibiting the formation of peptidoglycan cross links in the bacterial cell wall by directly competing for the reaction site (the beta-lactam ring of penicillin is a chemical analogue for the enzyme that links the peptidoglycan molecules in bacteria) and thus preventing the bacteria from multiplying (or rather causing cell lysis or death when the bacteria tries to divide). See optical isomerism.

Antibiotic resistance to penicillin is now common amongst many hospital acquired bacteria. The resistance to penicillin has been partly (maybe mostly) due to the rise of beta-lactamase producing bacteria which secrete an enzyme that breaks down the beta-lactam ring of penicillin, rendering it harmless to the bacteria.

Penicillin has a molecular formula R-C₉H₁₁N₂O₄S, where R is a variable side chain. It usually comes in two forms: Benzylpenicillin or penicillin G, which must be injected, and phenoxymethylpenicillin or penicillin V which is acid-stable and can be given in tablet form. Although this meant that penicillin could be prescribed in the community for the treatment of infections, the somewhat narrow spectrum of activity of penicillin V lead to the search for derivatives of penicillin which could treat a wider range of infections. The first real step forward was in the form of ampicillin. Ampicillin offered a broader spectrum of activity than either of the original penicillins and allowed doctors to treat a huge range of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative infections with one relatively cheap drug. Further development gave us flucloxacillin, important even now for its resistance to beta-lactamases produced by bacteria such as Staphylococcus species. It is still no match for MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus), which was named after flucloxacillin's relative, methicillin.

The last in the line of true penicillins were the antipseudomonal penicillins, such as ticarcillin, useful for their activity against gram-negative bacteria. However, the usefulness of the beta-lactam ring was such that related antibiotics including the mecillinams, the carbapenems and, most importantly, the cephalosporins, have it at the centre of their structures.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Penicillin."

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Synonym: Penicillin

Synonym: Antibiotics. (additional references)

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Crosswords: Penicillin

English words defined with "penicillin": Alexander Fleming, amoxicillin, Amoxil, ampicillin, anaphylactic shock, Augmentin ♦ benzylpenicillin, beta-lactamase ♦ cephalosporin, chain ♦ dicloxacillin, Dynapen ♦ Ernst Boris Chain ♦ Fleming, Florey, Fulvicin ♦ genus Penicillium, griseofulvin ♦ Howard Florey ♦ issuance, issue, issuing ♦ Larotid, Ledercillin VK ♦ Mefoxin, methicillin ♦ Nafcil, nafcillin ♦ oxacillin ♦ penicillin F, penicillin G, penicillin O, penicillin V, penicillin V potassium, penicillinase, penicillinase-resistant antibiotic, penicillin-resistant, penicillin-resistant bacteria, Penicillium, phenoxymethyl penicillin, piperacillin, Pipracil, Polycillin, Polymox, Principen ♦ Sir Alexander Fleming, Sir Ernst Boris Chain, Sir Howard Walter Florey, SK-Ampicillin ♦ Trimox. (references)

Specialty definitions using "penicillin": Ampicillin Resistance, Azlocillin ♦ Carbapenems, Carbenicillin, Clavulanic Acids ♦ Methicillin Resistance, Mezlocillin ♦ Penicillin Amidase, Penicillin G, Benzathine, Penicillin G, Procaine, Penicillin Resistance, Penicillium chrysogenum, Picibanil ♦ Ticarcillin. (references)

Non-English Usage: "Penicillin" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses.

German (penicillin), Hungarian (penicillin), Swedish (penicillin).

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Modern Usage: Penicillin

Domain

Usage

Screenplays

Well, so was penicillin. And Robert! (Everybody Loves Raymond; writing credit: Joe Bolster)

Question: Do you like penicillin on your pizza? (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; writing credit: Kevin Eastman; Peter Laird)

The surgeon general called, he told you to stop taking all the penicillin. (That '70s Show; writing credit: Stacia Raymond)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Penicillin

Domain	Title
Books	Alexander Fleming and the Story of Penicillin (Unlocking the Secrets of Science) (reference) Alexander Fleming: The Man Who Discovered Penicillin (Great Minds of Science) (reference) Florey: The Man Who Made Penicillin (reference) Howard Florey, Penicillin and After (reference) Life of Sir Alexander Fleming Discoverer of Penicillin (reference) (more book examples)

Music	This Is Penicillin (Best) [IMPORT] (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Photo Album: Penicillin

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Black tongue associated with penicillin therapy.Credit: CDC.		Severe hypersensitivity reaction due to penicillin, skin of face. Allergy, allergic.Credit: CDC.
	An infant demonstrating mucous patches and skin lesions resulting from congenital syphilis. In 1998, 81.3% of reported cases of CS occurred because the mother received no penicillin treatment or inadequate treatment before or during pregnancy.Credit: CDC.		This patient with congenital syphilis is exhibiting sabre shins or osteoperiostitis of the tibia. In 1998, 81.3% of reported cases of CS occurred because the mother received no penicillin treatment or inadequate treatment before or during pregnancy.Credit: CDC.
	Poster explaining how gonnorhea "The Great Crippler" can be cured in 4hrs with penicillin.Credit: CDC.		Ten days after receiving a single injection of penicillin, little Ede's sores have almost disappeared. / WHO p.Credit: National Library of Medicine; photo by Eric Schwab..
	[An injection of Penicillin on a meningitis case at a evacuation hospital in Luxembourg].Credit: National Library of Medicine.		Penicillin Cures This Disease : [Yaws].Credit: National Library of Medicine.
	Professor Alexander Fleming : Discoverer of Penicillin.Credit: National Library of Medicine.		Penicillin - Connaught Laboratory - Toronto.Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Penicillin

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		Patients allergic to penicillin are given erythromycin. (references)
		Start penicillin prophylaxis prior to age 4 months and make every effort to assure compliance. (references)
		Patients with severe arthritis may be treated with ceftriaxone or penicillin given intravenously. (references)
Political Economy	PHILIPPINES	Subject to other import regulations are certain other items, including firearms and ammunition, used clothing, sodium cyanide, chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and other ozone-depleting substances, penicillin and derivatives, coal and derivatives, color reproduction machines, chemicals for the manufacture of explosives, pesticides, used motor vehicles, and used tires. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Usage Frequency: Penicillin

"Penicillin" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Penicillin" is used about 205 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	100%	205	21,272

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expression: Penicillin

Expressions using "penicillin": benzyl penicillin ♦ Penicillin Amidase ♦ penicillin F ♦ Penicillin G ♦ penicillin O ♦ Penicillin Resistance ♦ Penicillin V ♦ Penicillin V Potassium ♦ Penicillin VK ♦ phenoxymethyl penicillin. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "penicillin": Penicillin-f, Penicillin-g, penicillin-i, penicillin-ii, penicillin-iii, Penicillin-iv, Penicillin-k, penicillin-producing, penicillin-resistant, penicillin-resistant bacteria, penicillin-splitting, Penicillin-x.
	Ending with "penicillin": pre-penicillin.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Penicillin

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
penicillin	591	allergic to penicillin	7
penicillin allergy	63	penicillin structure	7
penicillin vk	38	use of penicillin	6
penicillin side effects	37	invention of penicillin	6
discovery of penicillin	22	penicillin v potassium	6
history and of and penicillin	21	invented penicillin who	6
allergic reaction to penicillin	19	penicillin anti virus	6
penicillin g	14	pc penicillin	6
penicillin reaction	12	binding penicillin protein	5
alexander fleming penicillin	11	buy online penicillin	5
penicillin alcohol	11	500mg penicillin vk	5
discovered penicillin	10	penicillin online	5
penicillin picture	9	information on penicillin	5
penicillin shot	9	penicillin pregnancy	5
penicillin v	9	penicillin prescription	4
inventor of penicillin	8	injection penicillin	4
penicillin production	8	allergy penicillin symptom	4
buy penicillin	8	penicillin treatment	4
discovered penicillin who	7	penicillin rash	4
penicillin fleming	7	antibiotic penicillin	4
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Penicillin

Language		Translations for "penicillin"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		penicilinë. (various references)

Arabic		‏عقار مضاد للجراثيم, ‏بنسلين. (various references)

Bulgarian		пеницилинов, пеницилин. (various references)

Chinese		�'霉� . (various references)

Czech		penicilín. (various references)

Danish		penicillin. (various references)

Dutch		penicilline. (various references)

Esperanto		penicilino. (various references)

Farsi		پنی سیلین . (various references)

Finnish		penisilliini. (various references)

French		pénicilline (penicillin phial). (various references)

German		Penicillin. (various references)

Greek		πενικιλλίνη. (various references)

Hungarian		penicillin. (various references)

Indonesian		penisilin. (various references)

Italian		penicillina, penicillìna. (various references)

Japanese Kanji		ペトリ皿 (pedometer, penalty, penalty area, penalty box, penalty goal, penalty kick, penicillin anaphylaxy, penicillin shock, penis, pennant, pennant race, pepper, peppermint, pepsin, peptide, petri dish, petrofood, petroleum, PG). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		ペニシリン . (various references)

Korean		페니실린. (various references)

Manx		penisillin. (various references)

Papiamen		penisilin. (various references)

Pig Latin		enicillinpay

Portuguese		penicilina (peninsula), pena (crowquill, egret, feather, grief, mercy, nib, pain, pen, penalty, pity, plume, punishment, rue, Ruth, sanction, sentence, shucks, stretch, suffering, sympathy, trouble). (various references)

Romanian		penicilinã. (various references)

Russian		пенициллин (penicilin). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		penicilin. (various references)

Spanish		penicilina. (various references)

Swedish		penicillin. (various references)

Turkish		penisilin. (various references)

Ukranian		пеніциліновий, пеніцилін. (various references)

Vietnamese		Pênixilin. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Penicillin

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	penicillus. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Penicillin

Derivations
	Words beginning with "penicillin": penicillinase, penicillinases, penicillins. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Penicillin" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: penacilin, penacillin, pencilin, pencillin, penecilin, penecillin, penicilen, penicilin, penicillan, penicillen, penicillia, penicillian, penicillim, penicyllin, penisillin, pennicilin, pennicillin, pinicillin, preinsulin. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Penicillin"

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "penicillin" (pronounced pe'nusi"lun)
4	-i" l u n	Billon, bouillon, vanillin, villain.
3	-l u n	adrenaline, Alan, Ballon, befallen, Callan, Chamberlain, chaplain, colon, crestfallen, discipline, elan, fallen, felon, gallon, globulin, gremlin, insulin, javelin, kaolin, Kremlin, lanolin, Magdalen, Marlin, masculine, melon, Mullen, muskmelon, muslin, pelon, pentathlon, phenolphthalein, pollen, porcelain, solan, Solon, stolen, stollen, sullen, swollen, talon, Tolan, triathlon, watermelon, woolen, woollen, Zeppelin.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Penicillin

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "c-e-i-i-i-l-l-n-n-p"
	-3 letters: incline, penicil.
	-4 letters: inclip, nielli, pencil.
	-5 letters: celli, cline, linen, linin, lipin, penni, pilei.
	Words containing the letters "c-e-i-i-i-l-l-n-n-p"
	+1 letter: penicillins.
	+3 letters: penicillamine, penicillinase.
	+4 letters: penicillamines, penicillinases.
	+5 letters: indisciplinable.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.