sulfonamide

[ suhl-fon-uh-mahyd, -mid, suhl-fuh-nam-ahyd, -id ]

noun

, Pharmacology.

1. sulfa drug.

sulfonamide

/ sŭl-fŏn′ə-mīd′,-mĭd /

1. Any of a group of organic sulfur compounds containing the radical SO 2 NH 2 .
2. ◆ Certain sulfonamides known as sulfa drugs are used as antibiotics to treat bacterial infections.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sulfonamide¹

First recorded in 1900–05; sulfon(ic acid) + amide

Example Sentences

Their results also indicate that the four types of antimicrobial drug most commonly used in farm animals to help them gain weight — tetracyclines, sulfonamides, quinolones and penicillins — are also the ones with highest resistance rates.

From Nature

This has been extended to include synthetic drugs, including sulfonamides and quinolones.

From Nature

The great contemporary achievement of modern medicine is the technology for controlling and preventing bacterial infection, but this did not fall into our laps with the appearance of penicillin and the sulfonamides.

From Literature

The situation is particularly acute in Africa, where the number of infections is rising and resistance to older antibiotics, such as penicillin or drugs based on sulfonamide, is growing.

From Nature

Denmark and Croatia had sulfonamides, Norway had bacitracin, and Pakistan had several types of antibiotics.

From Forbes

Related Words

• penicillin