blood agar
- noun
- /blʌd ˈɑːɡər/
- Specialized
:
agar sangre
- The specimens were transferred from nutrient broth and cultured again in blood agar and incubated at the same temperature and period mentioned above.
Examples
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Microbiologists rely on blood agar to identify different strains of pathogens.
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A total of 1,919 colonies were counted on blood agar plates collected from all five phones in the morning (Table 1).
Academic text (2004) -
Suspected colonies were further streaked on blood agar (Quinn et al., 2004).
Academic text (2014) -
Single colonies from each TSA-YE plate were also stabbed onto 5 percent sheep blood agar (Remel, Lenexa, Kansas).
Academic text (2005) -
To this end, investigations made during this study indicated that microorganisms were Gram-positive motile rods along with a double zone of hemolysis on blood agar.
Academic text (2014) -
The laboratory used blood agar to culture various bacteria for their research.
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The technician prepared blood agar by mixing nutrient agar with whole blood for bacterial cultivation.
How Rich
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'blood' (the biological fluid) with 'agar' (a gelatinous culture medium): it denotes agar that contains blood used for growing bacteria. This is a straightforward, compositional scientific compound following common naming patterns (e.g., 'chocolate agar'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Blood agar comes from its two parts, blood and agar. It is a jelly used to grow bacteria with animal blood mixed in, so some bacteria eat or break the blood and make clear marks on the plate that help 'identify' them.