Chapter 24
Antimicrobial Drugs
Chapter Summary and Essay Questions
Chapter 24 discusses microorganism control within the body by chemotherapeutic agents and
antibiotics. It emphasizes the characteristics that contribute to the killing power of the chemical
and notes the side effects and the risks of using these drugs. The chapter also mentions the
mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and reasons for the misuse/abuse of the drugs. When you
have completed this chapter, you should be able to answer the following essay questions:
a. List four investigators who made significant contributions to the development of
chemotherapeutic agents, and indicate the accomplishments of each.
b. Describe the mechanism of competitive inhibition by sulfanilamide.
c. Name and indicate the uses of four chemotherapeutic agents employed in contemporary
medicine to treat tuberculosis and one to treat leprosy.
d. Summarize the key events that led to the discovery and development of penicillin.
e. Write a complete paragraph on penicillin, emphasizing its source, chemical structure, activity,
and drawbacks to its use.
f. List a number of semisynthetic penicillins, and indicate their uses in therapy.
g. Compare the cephalosporin and penicillin antibiotics with respect to source, structure,
spectrum of activity, and side effects.
h. Summarize the chemistry, mode of action, and typical examples of the aminoglycoside
family of antibiotics.
i. Make some generalizations about the spectrum of activity, side effects, and uses of the
antibiotic chloramphenicol.
j. State several examples and describe the chemical structure, uses, and side effects of
tetracycline antibiotics.
k. List 10 antibacterial antibiotics other than those mentioned previously, and write a short
explanatory note about each.
l. State the names of five antifungal drugs, and refer to the general uses for each listed.
m. Identify the major groups of antiprotozoal drugs and the unique targets of these drugs.
n. Discuss the drugs available to treat helminth infections and the target of these drugs.
o. Describe the chemotherapeutic agents used to treat malaria.
p. Compare some of the new approaches to antibiotic therapy.
q. Describe the susceptibility assays used to study the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic
agents.
r. Contrast the mechanisms by which bacteria may become resistant to antibiotics.
s. Explain why antibiotic resistance is a major problem in medicine today.