gentamicin

noun

gen·​ta·​mi·​cin ˌjen-tə-ˈmī-sᵊn 

: a broad-spectrum antibiotic mixture derived from an actinomycete (Micromonospora purpurea or M. echinospora) and extensively used as the sulfate in treating infections (as of the urinary tract)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Both can be treated with gentamicin, one of a larger group of antibiotics called aminoglycosides. —Valerie Ross, Discover Magazine, 13 May 2011

The researchers combined gentamicin with different kinds of sugars, including mannitol, fructose and glucose. —Valerie Ross, Discover Magazine, 13 May 2011

But a Henry Ford Health System study found that cleaning catheters with an antibiotic combination of gentamicin and citrate, instead of heparin, lowered mortality rates a whopping 68 percent. —Lacy Schley, Discover Magazine, 22 Jan. 2015

Those who are currently or were previously sick with monkeypox, or people who have had an allergic reaction to gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, or egg protein, should not get the vaccine. —Gretchen Cuda Kroen, cleveland, 15 Sep. 2022

Instead, antibiotics commonly used in flu vaccine manufacturing include neomycin, kanamycin, polymyxin B and gentamicin. —Anne P. Kim, The Conversation, 13 Nov. 2020

Word History

Etymology

alteration of earlier gentamycin, from gentian violet + kanamycin; from the color of the actinomycete

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

gentamicin

noun

gen·​ta·​mi·​cin ˌjent-ə-ˈmīs-ᵊn 

: a broad-spectrum aminoglycoside antibiotic mixture that is derived from two actinomycetes of the genus Micromonospora (M. purpurea and M. echinospora) and is extensively used in the form of the sulfate in treating infections especially of the urinary tract