Petri dish

From WikiMD's Food, Medicine & Wellness Encyclopedia

Petri dish (also known as a Petri plate or cell-culture dish) is a shallow, cylindrical, lidded dish that biologists and chemists use to culture cells, such as bacteria, fungi or small mosses. It is named after the German bacteriologist Julius Richard Petri, who invented it when working as an assistant to Robert Koch.

History[edit | edit source]

The Petri dish was invented in 1887 by Julius Richard Petri, a German bacteriologist, while working as an assistant to Robert Koch. Petri invented this dish for the purpose of culturing bacteria and other microorganisms. The Petri dish has since become a common laboratory equipment due to its various uses.

Design[edit | edit source]

A Petri dish is a shallow, cylindrical glass or plastic lidded dish that is used to culture cells. It is typically filled with a growth medium like agar to supply nutrients for the cells. The lid of the Petri dish is slightly larger than the base to prevent contamination of the sample.

Uses[edit | edit source]

Petri dishes are used in a variety of scientific disciplines, including microbiology, cell biology, and molecular biology. They are used to culture various types of cells, including bacteria, fungi, and small mosses. Petri dishes are also used in clinical diagnostics and in the pharmaceutical industry.

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]


Petri dish Resources
Doctor showing form.jpg
Wiki.png

Navigation: Wellness - Encyclopedia - Health topics - Disease Index‏‎ - Drugs - World Directory - Gray's Anatomy - Keto diet - Recipes

Search WikiMD


Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) available.
Advertise on WikiMD

WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. See full disclaimer.

Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.


Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD