Antibiotic synergy with enterococcal endocarditis experienced a high relapse rate when penicillin G alone was used for treatment and a demonstrably lower relapse rate when streptomycin was combined with penicillin G to combat the infection. Since that time the research community has conducted numerous studies regarding the effects and possibilities of antibiotic combinations. Today, combination therapy is recognized as providing a broad spectrum of antibiotic coverage, effectively fighting polymicrobial infections, minimizing selection for antibiotic resistant strains, lowering dose toxicity where applicable, and in some cases providing synergistic activity. Antibiotic synergy is desirable in a clinic sense for several reasons. At the patient
Antibiotic gastric juices and hydrogen peroxide). It also excluded synthetic antibacterial compounds such as the sulfonamides. In current usage, the term "antibiotic" is applied to any medication that kills bacteria or inhibits their growth, regardless of whether that medication is produced by a microorganism or not. The term "antibiotic" derives from "anti" + βιωτικός ("biōtikos"), "fit for life, lively", which comes from βίωσις ("biōsis"), "way of life", and that from βίος ("bios"), "life". The term "antibacterial" derives from Greek ἀντί ("anti"), "against" + βακτήριον ("baktērion"), diminutive of βακτηρία ("baktēria"), "staff, cane", because the first bacteria to be discovered were rod-shaped. The