The cephalosporin antibiotics are a confusing class of medications. We talk about them in "generations," like a pharmacologic family tree. And while there is a general rule regarding which bugs they cover, the exceptions to that rule are numerous and important. In this episode we'll unpack the cephalosporins a bit. We'll explain what it means for one cephalosporin to be "better" than another for treating a particular bacteria and why the 4th and 5th generations are each composed of just one drug. In the end, we wont be infectious disease experts but we wont have to call them the "Ceph-a-somethings" ever again.