Keywords:

Emerg Infect Dis

Emerging Infect. Dis

EID

Emerging Infectious Diseases

1080-60401080-6059

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

3320480

ET-1108

10.3201/eid1108.ET1108

News and Notes

Etymologia: Cephalosporin

Address for correspondence: EID Editor, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd NE, Mailstop D61, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA; email: eideditor@cdc.gov

82005

11811911191

Keywords: etymologyEtymologiaCephalosporin

[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