culture medium
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Definition
- Noun:
- A nutrient substance for cultivating microorganisms: A "culture medium" is a solid or liquid substance containing nutrients that is specifically prepared to support the growth and reproduction of microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, or cells in a laboratory setting.
Usage
- The term "culture medium" is used primarily in scientific contexts, especially in microbiology, cell biology, and medical laboratories.
- It refers to the prepared substance into which a sample is introduced to grow and study microorganisms.
Examples
- Noun:
- The bacteria were inoculated onto a sterile culture medium.
- Agar is a common solidifying agent used in many types of culture media.
- The lab technician prepared a fresh liquid culture medium for the cell culture experiment.
Advanced Usage
- "Selective culture medium": A medium designed to suppress the growth of unwanted microorganisms and encourage the growth of desired ones.
- A selective culture medium was used to isolate the specific strain of Salmonella.
- "Enriched culture medium": A medium supplemented with special nutrients (like blood or serum) to support the growth of fastidious organisms.
- The pathogen required an enriched culture medium containing sheep's blood for optimal growth.
Variants and Related Words
- Medium (n, in this context): Often used interchangeably with "culture medium" in laboratory jargon.
- The cells were grown in a nutrient-rich medium.
- Growth medium (n): A synonym for "culture medium."
- Agar plate (n): A specific, common type of solid culture medium using agar as a base, typically in a Petri dish.
- The scientist streaked the sample onto an agar plate.
Synonyms
- Growth medium
- Nutrient medium
- Nutrient broth (specifically for liquid media)
- Substrate (in a broader biochemical context)
Related Phrases
- To culture on/in a medium: The act of growing microorganisms using a culture medium.
- The specimen was cultured on a special medium to identify the organism.
- Medium preparation: The process of making and sterilizing a culture medium.
- Proper medium preparation is critical to avoid contamination.
Notes
- The term is a compound noun. The word "culture" here functions as a noun modifier, specifying the type of "medium" (i.e., a medium used for culturing).
- It is a standard, uncountable noun when referring to the substance in general, but can be countable when referring to different types or batches (e.g., "several culture media").
Noun
- (bacteriology) a nutrient substance (solid or liquid) that is used to cultivate micro-organisms