Culturable

/ˈkʌltʃərəbəl/ adjective

Definition

Able to be cultured or cultivated; capable of being grown in a laboratory or developed as a culture.

Etymology

From culture + -able (capable of). Used especially in microbiology to describe organisms that can be grown in controlled conditions.

Kelly Says

In medical labs, scientists need to know which bacteria are culturable—meaning they can be grown in petri dishes—versus bacteria that are harder or impossible to grow artificially, which makes diagnosis tricky.

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