Cell culture is the process of removing cells from an animal or plant and promoting growth under favorable, controlled conditions. Conditions can be modified to optimize temperature, humidity, gas composition, and resource availability. A growth medium, like agar jelly, contains the essential nutrients being used to supply cells with the necessary resources for continual growth. Cell culture can be conducted in Petri dishes, flasks, or industrial bioreactors.

In diagnostic medicine, cell cultures are used to identify infectious organisms grown from bodily fluid samples. Meanwhile, in biological research, cell cultures can include cancer cells, deadly microorganisms, e.g., anthrax, soil microbes, and more. Equipment such as automated cell counters, flow cytometry analyzers and microplate readers are used for cell analysis.