Exam 2: Topic 14

Question 1

Differentiate between the following terms: antibiotics, antibacterials, antivirals,
antifungals.

Answer 1

• Antibiotics: work by either killing bacteria or inhibiting their growth
• Antibacterial: target bacterial infections. While all antibiotics are antibacterials, not all antibacterials are classified as antibiotics.
• Antivirals: target viral infections. They work by inhibiting the development of the virus within the host’s cells.
• Antifungals: target fungal infections. They work by disrupting the cell membranes of fungi or inhibiting their growth

Question 2

Name some of the targets of antibacterial drugs.

Answer 2

• Cell wall synthesis
• Protein synthesis
• RNA synthesis
• DNA replication
• Metabolic pathways
• Cell membrane integrity

Question 3

Explain why selective toxicity is an important parameter to consider when
researching or prescribing antimicrobial drugs.

Answer 3

• toxic to bacteria @ low dose. requires a high dose to be toxic to humans

Question 4

Differentiate between broad spectrum and narrow spectrum drugs. Provide one
clinical example of where a broad-spectrum agent is preferred and one where a
narrow spectrum agent is preferred.

Answer 4

• Broad spectrum is preferred in emergency setting or unknown situation; Narrow preferred when specific target is known and to not disrupt normal flora, such as normal flora in colon that can lead to a different/worse infection.
• Narrow spectrum: kills small subset of infectious bacteria
• Broad spectrum: kills most infectious bacteria