Medical uses and spectrum of activity - Treatment of acne - Treatment of cholera - Treatment of brucellosis - Treatment of plague - Treatment of malaria - Broad spectrum of antibiotic action - Bacteriostatic activity against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria - Exceptions: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus spp. - Acquired resistance in many pathogenic organisms - Useful in managing infections by certain intracellular bacterial pathogens

Anti-eukaryote use - Activity against certain eukaryotic parasites - Effective against dysentery caused by an amoeba - Effective against malaria caused by a plasmodium - Effective against balantidiasis caused by a ciliate

Use as a biomarker - Tetracycline hydrochloride used as a marker of bone growth in humans - Incorporated into mineralizing bone and detected by fluorescence - Double tetracycline labeling used to measure bone growth - Used as a biomarker in wildlife to detect consumption of medicine-containing baits

Side effects - Discoloration of permanent teeth, especially in children - Inactivation by calcium, aluminum, iron, and zinc ions - Skin photosensitivity - Drug-induced lupus and hepatitis - Breathing complications and anaphylactic shock in some individuals

History and society - Tetracyclines discovered by Benjamin Minge Duggar in 1948 - Tetracycline antibiotic, chlortetracycline (Aureomycin), discovered in 1945 - Structure of Aureomycin elucidated in 1952 and published in 1954 - Tetracycline received FDA approval in 1954 - Tetracycline can be identified in bones using ultraviolet light - Nubian mummies from 350-550 A.D. showed patterns of fluorescence similar to modern tetracycline-labeled bone - Price of tetracycline in the USA rose significantly from 2013 to 2015 - Tetracycline marketed under various brand names - Tetracycline used in genetic engineering and research