- Culture
- A culture is the propagation of microorganisms in a growth media. Any body tissue or fluid can be evaluated in the laboratory by culture techniques in order to detect and identify infectious processes. Culture techniques also be used to determine sensitivity to antibiotics.
* * *1. The propagation of microorganisms on or in media of various kinds. 2. A mass of microorganisms on or in a medium. 3. The propagation of mammalian cells, i.e., cell c.. See cell c.. 4. Set of beliefs, values, artistic, historical, religious characteristics, customs, etc. common to a community or nation. SYN: cultivation. [L. cultura, tillage, fr. colo, pp. cultus, to till]- batch c. a technique for large-scale production of microbes or microbial products in which, at a given point in time, the fermenter is stopped and the c. is worked up.- cell c. the maintenance or growth of dispersed cells after removal from the body, commonly on a glass surface immersed in nutrient fluid.- continuous c. a technique for production of microbes or microbial products in which nutrients are continuously supplied to the fermenter.- discontinuous c. a technique for production of microbes or microbial products in which the organisms are grown in a closed system until one nutrient factor becomes rate-limiting.- elective c. a method of isolating microorganisms capable of utilizing a specific substrate by incubating an inoculum in a medium containing the substrate; the medium usually contains substances or has characteristics that inhibit the growth of unwanted microorganisms. SYN: enrichment c..- enrichment c. SYN: elective c..- hanging-block c. the propagation of microorganisms on a cube of solidified agar medium which is inoculated, attached to a cover glass, and inverted over a moist chamber or hollowed slide.- Harada-Mori filter paper strip c. a combination of filter paper, fecal specimen, and tap water placed in a centrifuge tube; provides an environment for nematode eggs to hatch and larvae to develop.- mixed lymphocyte c. mixed lymphocyte c. test.- monoxenic c. c. of parasites grown in association with a single known bacterium.- neotype c. SYN: neotype strain.- organ c. the maintenance or growth of tissues, organ primordia, or the parts or whole of an organ in vitro in such a way as to allow differentiation or preservation of the architecture or function.- Petri dish c. a combination of filter paper, fecal specimen, and tap water placed in a Petri dish; provides an environment for nematode eggs to hatch and larvae to develop.- plastic envelope c. simplified method for transport and c. of specimens for the diagnosis of infection with Trichomonas vaginalis; liquid c. medium is examined microscopically through the envelope, so pipette sampling of the medium is not required.- pouch c. plastic c. systems used for transport of specimens, c., and examination chambers for the isolation, growth, and detection of Trichomonas vaginalis.- pure c. in the ordinary bacteriologic sense, a c. consisting of a single species and strain of a bacterium.- roll-tube c. a c. in a tube of medium which has been melted and allowed to solidify while the tube is being spun; the inside of the tube is thereby coated with a thin layer of solidified medium.- sensitized c. a live c. of an organism to which a specific antiserum is added; after the mixture is incubated for several minutes (during which the antibody in the serum combines with the organisms), the excess serum is removed by means of centrifugation, washing in physiologic saline solution, and recentrifugation; the sensitized organisms may then be resuspended in physiologic saline solution.- shake c. a c. made by inoculating a liquefied gelatin or agar medium, distributing the inoculum thoroughly by agitation, and then allowing the medium to solidify in the tube in an upright position.- slant c. a c. made on the slanting surface of a medium which has been solidified in a test tube inclined from the perpendicular so as to give a greater area than that of the lumen of the tube. SYN: slope c..- slope c. SYN: slant c..- smear c. a c. obtained by spreading material presumed to be infected on the surface of a solidified medium.- stab c. a c. produced by inserting an inoculating needle with inoculum down the center of a solid medium contained in a test tube. SYN: needle c..- stock c. a c. of a microorganism maintained solely for the purpose of keeping the microorganism in a viable condition by subculture, as necessary, into fresh medium.- streak c. a c. produced by lightly stroking an inoculating needle or loop with inoculum over the surface of a solid medium.- tissue c. the maintenance of live tissue after removal from the body, by placing in a vessel with a sterile nutritive medium.- xenic c. cultures of parasites grown in association with an unknown microbiota. [G. xenikos, alien, foreign, fr. xenos, guest, stranger]
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cul·ture 'kəl-chər n1 a) the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thought, speech, action, and artifacts and depends upon the human capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generationsb) the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group2 a) the act or process of growing living material (as bacteria or viruses) in prepared nutrient mediab) a product of cultivation in nutrient mediacul·tur·al 'kəlch(-ə)-rəl adjcul·tur·al·ly -rə-lē advculture vt, cul·tured; cul·tur·ing 'kəlch-(ə-)riŋ1) to grow (as microorganisms or tissues) in a prepared medium2) to start a culture from <\culture soil> also to make a culture of <\culture milk>* * *
1. n. a population of microorganisms, usually bacteria, grown in a solid or liquid laboratory medium (culture medium), which is usually agar, broth, or gelatin. A pure culture consists of a single bacterial species. A stab culture is a bacterial culture growing in a plug of solid medium within a bottle (or tube); the medium is inoculated by 'stabbing' it with a bacteria-coated straight wire. A stock culture is a permanent bacterial culture, from which subcultures are made. See also tissue culture.2. vb. to grow bacteria or other microorganisms in cultures.* * *
cul·ture (kulґchər) [L. cultura] 1. the propagation of microorganisms or of living tissue cells in special media conducive to their growth. 2. a growth of microorganisms or other living cells. 3. to induce the propagation of microorganisms or living tissue cells in media conducive to their growth. See also culture medium.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
