Emerging Infectious Disease ISSN: 1080-6059

Etymologia: Cephalosporin

[sef′′ə-lo-spor′in]
Suggested Citation

[sef′′ə-lo-spor′in]

Any of a class of broad-spectrum, relatively penicillinase-resistant, ®-lactam antimicrobial drugs originally derived from species of the fungus Acremonium (formerly called Cephalosporium). Italian scientist Giuseppe Brotzu first isolated the parent compound cephalosporin C from a sewer in Sardinia in 1948. Cephalosporins available for medical use today are semisynthetic derivatives of this natural antimicrobial compound.

Sources: Dorland's illustrated medical dictionary. 30th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2003. and Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield (MA): Merriam-Webster's, Inc; 2003.

Suggested Citation for this article: Etymologia: Cephalosporin. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2005, Aug. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1108.ET1108

DOI: 10.3201/eid1108.ET1108

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