CULTURE MEDIUM Meaning and
Definition
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A culture medium refers to a substance or environment that supports the growth, development, and survival of microorganisms or living cells outside their natural habitat. It provides the necessary nutrients, pH balance, moisture, and temperature required for the organisms to cultivate and reproduce. Culture mediums are extensively used in various scientific fields such as microbiology, biotechnology, and cell biology to study and analyze microorganisms, model organisms, and cell cultures.
Generally, culture mediums can be classified into two main types: solid and liquid. Solid culture mediums, commonly known as agar plates or Petri dishes, are made by adding agar, a gelatinous substance derived from seaweed, to a liquid medium. The solidified agar-based medium allows the microorganisms to grow and form visible colonies on its surface, facilitating their study and analysis. On the other hand, liquid culture mediums are typically made by dissolving the necessary nutrients in water or another liquid. These liquid mediums are usually used in test tubes or flasks and allow the microorganisms to grow and multiply freely in suspension.
Culture mediums are often supplemented with specific ingredients such as carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and growth factors to meet the nutritional requirements of the microorganisms or cells being cultured. Additionally, they can be modified by adjusting factors like pH, temperature, and oxygen levels to suit the specific needs of the organisms. Culture mediums also serve as a platform for introducing selective agents like antibiotics or dyes to inhibit the growth of unwanted microorganisms, thus enabling the isolation and identification of desired species.
In summary, a culture medium is a controlled environment that provides the necessary nutrients and conditions for the successful cultivation of microorganisms or cells outside their natural habitat, allowing scientists to study and manipulate them for various research purposes.
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A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
Common Misspellings for CULTURE MEDIUM
- xulture medium
- vulture medium
- fulture medium
- dulture medium
- cylture medium
- chlture medium
- cjlture medium
- cilture medium
- c8lture medium
- c7lture medium
- cukture medium
- cupture medium
- cuoture medium
- culrure medium
- culfure medium
- culgure medium
- culyure medium
- cul6ure medium
- cul5ure medium
Etymology of CULTURE MEDIUM
The word "culture" in the context of biology refers to the process of growing microorganisms or cells outside their natural environment for scientific research or industrial purposes. The term "medium" refers to a substance that provides the necessary environment for the growth and development of these microorganisms or cells.
The etymology of the word "culture" can be traced back to the Latin word "cultūra", which means "tilling, cultivation, agriculture". This root word also gave rise to the English word "cultivate". In the late 15th century, the term "culture" began to be used in a metaphorical sense to represent the intellectual or artistic development of individuals or communities.
The word "medium" comes from the Latin word "medius", which means "middle" or "in-between". It later developed the meaning of a substance or material that enables the transfer of something or serves as a vehicle for a particular process.
Similar spelling word for CULTURE MEDIUM
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