blood agar

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Word: Blood Agar

Part of Speech: Noun

Definition: Blood agar is a special type of growth medium used in laboratories to help grow bacteria. It contains whole blood (usually from sheep) mixed with a nutrient-rich base that allows bacteria to thrive.

Usage Instructions:

• Blood agar is used in microbiology to grow and identify different types of bacteria.
• When scientists want to see how bacteria react to certain conditions, they might use blood agar in their experiments.

Example Sentence:

• "The lab technician prepared a blood agar plate to test for bacterial infections."

Advanced Usage:

• Blood agar can also be used to differentiate between types of bacteria based on their ability to break down red blood cells. For instance, some bacteria create a clear zone around their growth, indicating hemolysis (the breakdown of red blood cells).

Word Variants:

• Blood agar plate: A flat dish that holds the blood agar medium.
• Blood agar culture: The process of growing bacteria on blood agar.

Different Meanings:

• In a scientific context, "blood agar" specifically refers to the medium used for growing bacteria. However, outside of this context, the individual words "blood" and "agar" have their own meanings:
  • Blood: The red liquid that circulates in the bodies of humans and animals.
  • Agar: A gelatinous substance derived from seaweed, used as a thickener in food or as a medium in microbiology.

Synonyms:

• There are no direct synonyms for "blood agar," but related terms in microbiology may include:
  • Agar medium: A generic term for any agar-based growth medium.
  • Nutrient agar: Another type of agar medium that does not contain blood.

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:

• There are no common idioms or phrasal verbs specifically related to "blood agar." However, in scientific discussions, you might hear phrases like:
  • "To culture bacteria" means to grow bacteria in a controlled environment, often using blood agar.

Summary:

Blood agar is a nutrient-rich medium containing whole blood, used primarily in laboratories to grow and study bacteria.

Academic

Noun

1. a culture medium containing whole blood as the nutrient