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azithromycin

azithromycin

1 7.0
A medicine that kills bacteria and treats infections in the body
  • noun
  • /əˌzɪθrəˈmaɪsɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : azitromicina
  • The doctor prescribed azithromycin to treat my bacterial infection.
  • antibiotic azithromycin

Examples

  • At least three infectious diseases common in Africa are treated with mass administration of drugs that have been donated by the manufacturer: albendazole for filariasis, ivermectin for onchocerciasis, and azithromycin for trachoma.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Many infections can be treated effectively with azithromycin, according to recent studies.

  • The toleration and safety profile of azithromycin has been well investigated elsewhere.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Azithromycin is generally known as a macrolide antibiotic.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Taking azithromycin is contraindicated in patients allergic to macrolide antibiotics.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Subsequent research on the antibiotic azithromycin showed that a single oral dose of the drug is as effective as six weeks of topical therapy.

    Academic text (2004)
  • One oral dose of the antibiotic azithromycin will clear the eyes of a Sudanese girl of trachoma infection.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The patients in the azithromycin group demonstrated superior compliance (83%) compared to those in the clindamycin group (50%) (Table 5).

    Academic text (1995)
  • Since macrolides have been reported to increase the plasma concentrations of digoxin, cyclosporin, and carbamazepine, azithromycin should be considered to have the same possible effects.

    Academic text (1995)
  • After taking azithromycin, the symptoms of the infection improved significantly.

Surface Forms

azithromycin singular
azithromycins plural

Morphology

azithromycin = azithro + mycin

The word is built from specialised pharmaceutical combining forms ('azithro-' and '-mycin') that are not productive standalone English morphemes, so learners cannot derive the meaning from the parts.

Etymology

The word azithromycin comes from the older drug erythromycin with a small chemical change shown by azi- (from 'aza', meaning 'nitrogen') and the ending -mycin, which comes from a word for 'fungus' because many early antibiotics were found in moulds. So, the name shows it is an antibiotic related to erythromycin but changed to fight infections in a new way.