Each week, Verywell explains a term from health, medicine, science, or technology.CultureHow to say it:Culture(cull-t-yer)What it means: Growing organisms or tissues to study them.Where it comes from: From Latin,cultura, “growing, cultivated land"John J. Farmer/CDC/WikicommonsWhere you might see or hear it: If you have an infection, your provider can order a type of test that figures out what germs are causing it. A sample of your blood,spit, or another fluid is taken to a lab. The lab technicians can put it in something that would help the germs grow.There are differenttypes of germsthat cause infections, like bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Cultures can help your provider figure out which one is making you sick as well as find the best treatment.When you might want to use it: If you’re diagnosed with an infection that you might have spread to someone else, you could explain that the results of your test (culture) showed that a specific germ is in your body.You might have to tell a person that they could also have the germ because you may have given it to them. One example is asexually transmitted infection(STI).What Causes STIs?
Each week, Verywell explains a term from health, medicine, science, or technology.
Culture
How to say it:Culture(cull-t-yer)
What it means: Growing organisms or tissues to study them.
Where it comes from: From Latin,cultura, “growing, cultivated land”
John J. Farmer/CDC/Wikicommons
Where you might see or hear it: If you have an infection, your provider can order a type of test that figures out what germs are causing it. A sample of your blood,spit, or another fluid is taken to a lab. The lab technicians can put it in something that would help the germs grow.
There are differenttypes of germsthat cause infections, like bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Cultures can help your provider figure out which one is making you sick as well as find the best treatment.
When you might want to use it: If you’re diagnosed with an infection that you might have spread to someone else, you could explain that the results of your test (culture) showed that a specific germ is in your body.
You might have to tell a person that they could also have the germ because you may have given it to them. One example is asexually transmitted infection(STI).
What Causes STIs?
SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Merriam-Webster.Definition of culture.
Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Merriam-Webster.Definition of culture.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Merriam-Webster.Definition of culture.
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