in vitro

/ɪn ˌvɪˈtroʊ/

/ɪn ˈvitrəʊ/

When you do experiments in a lab — usually with the help of slides, microscopes, or test tubes — your studies are considered in vitro.

In Latin, in vitro means "in glass," and in science it means that you are observing a cell, for example, separately from the organism it was originally part of. A well-known term is "in vitro fertilization," colloquially known as a "test tube baby," in which a human embryo is fertilized in a lab rather than its mother's body.

Definitions of in vitro

1. adjective

   in an artificial environment outside the living organism
   “in vitro fertilization”

   synonyms: ex vivo

   antonyms:

   in vivo

   within a living organism
2. adverb

   in an artificial environment outside the living organism
   “an egg fertilized in vitro”

   synonyms: ex vivo