Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
antibiotic resistance
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images & Videos
Labeled diagram of a bacterial cell showing key structures including capsule, cell wall, plasma membrane, cytoplasm, chromosome, plasmid, ribosomes, mesosome, pili, and long flagella.
Why you should finish your prescribed antibiotics
Diagram of a bacterial cell showing several antibiotic resistance mechanisms, including drug efflux pumps, drug-inactivating enzymes, inhibition of drug uptake, altered drug targets, and modified cell wall proteins, with labeled structures and antibiotic molecules depicted outside and inside the cell.
What are chronic infections?
overcoming antibiotic resistance
Quizzes
A Yorkshire terrier dressed up as a veterinarian or doctor on a white background. (dogs)
A Visit with the Word Doctor: Medical Vocabulary Quiz
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Labeled diagram of a bacterial cell showing key structures including capsule, cell wall, plasma membrane, cytoplasm, chromosome, plasmid, ribosomes, mesosome, pili, and long flagella.
structure of a typical bacterial cell Structure of a typical bacterial cell, showing the cell wall, a plasmid, and other components that are susceptible to modifications contributing to the development of antibiotic resistance.

antibiotic resistance

medicine
Written by
Douglas Morier
Graduate student, University of California, Los Angeles.
Douglas Morier
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

antibiotic resistance, loss of susceptibility of bacteria to the killing (bacteriocidal) or growth-inhibiting (bacteriostatic) properties of an antibiotic agent. When a resistant strain of bacteria is the dominant strain in an infection, the infection may be untreatable and life-threatening. Examples of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), penicillin-resistant Enterococcus, and multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-TB), which is resistant to two tuberculosis drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin. MDR-TB is particularly dangerous because it...

Discover the world with Britannica

Subscribe to Continue Reading

Free Trial | No Ads | Exclusive Content
Explore Subscriptions
DNA
Right
Mobile