Definition

1. Adverb:

   • In an artificial environment outside the living organism; typically referring to biological processes or experiments conducted in a controlled laboratory setting, such as in a test tube or petri dish.

2. Adjective:

   • Of, relating to, or involving a process or reaction taking place in an artificial environment outside a living organism.

Examples

• Adverb:

  • The egg was fertilized in vitro. (The fertilization process occurred outside the body in a laboratory dish.)
  • Scientists grew the tissue in vitro for their study. (The tissue was cultured in an artificial laboratory environment.)

• Adjective:

  • In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a common medical procedure. (This describes fertilization that happens outside the body.)
  • They conducted in vitro tests on the new drug compound. (The tests were performed in a controlled laboratory setting, not inside an animal or human.)

Advanced Usage

• "in vitro diagnostics": Medical tests performed on samples (like blood or tissue) taken from the body and analyzed in a laboratory setting.

  • Rapid in vitro diagnostics are crucial for early disease detection.

• "in vitro model": A laboratory system used to simulate a biological process or study the effects of substances on cells or tissues outside an organism.

  • Researchers developed a new in vitro model to study liver toxicity.

Variants and Related Words

• Ex vivo (adj/adv): Refers to experiments or procedures done on or with biological tissue from a living organism in an external environment, with minimal alteration of natural conditions. (Often contrasted with , which can involve isolated cells or components.)
  • The organ was preserved ex vivo for several hours before transplantation.

Synonyms

• In an artificial environment
• In a laboratory setting
• Outside the organism

Related Phrases

• In vitro vs. in vivo: A fundamental distinction in biological research. means "in glass" (outside a living organism), while means "within the living" (inside a living organism).
  • The compound showed promise in vitro, but its effects in vivo were different.

Related Idioms

• The term is a precise scientific phrase and is not typically used in idiomatic expressions.

Adjective

1. in an artificial environment outside the living organism
   • in vitro fertilization

Adverb

1. in an artificial environment outside the living organism
   • an egg fertilized in vitro