in vitro

adverb or adjective in vi·tro \ in-ˈvē-(ˌ)trō , -ˈvi- , -ˈwē- \

|Updated on: 3 Jun 2018

Definition of in vitro

: outside the living body and in an artificial environment

See in vitro defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of in vitro from the Web

To follow up this discovery Dr Haussler created what are known as organoids (specifically, brainoids), which are in vitro replicas of developing brains, made in this case using mouse cells.

— The Economist, "A history of big-headedness," 31 May 2018
If a drug passes initial screening tests in vitro, researchers next test it in vivo in live animals to determine the effects of a new drug on a whole system instead of just one cell type at a time.

— Smithsonian, "How Putting Organs on Chips Could Revolutionize Medicine," 31 May 2018
These tanks contain embryos and sperm collected from patients at Fertility Unlimited, an in vitro fertility clinic in Akron.

— ginger christ and julie washington, cleveland.com, "Tours of Ohio fertility clinics show procedures in place to safeguard eggs, embryos (photos, videos)," 25 Mar. 2018
Ol Pejeta noted that a copy of Sudan’s genetic material was taken on the day of his death, providing hope for future efforts to bring the species back from the brink of extinction through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques.

— paul richardson, Houston Chronicle, "World's Last Male Northern White Rhino Dies in Kenyan Reserve," 20 Mar. 2018
The in vitro process would be conducted using sperm from dead rhinos that is stored in Berlin and eggs extracted by surgery from the females at Ol Pejeta, according to the conservancy.

— Washington Post, "Last male northern white rhino takes a walk despite illness," 3 Mar. 2018
The in vitro process would be conducted using sperm from dead rhinos that is stored in Berlin and eggs extracted by surgery from the females at Ol Pejeta, the conservancy said.

— jane onyanga-omara, USA TODAY, "World’s last male northern white rhino is gravely ill. Is there hope?," 1 Mar. 2018
While preliminary studies have shown that the avocado seed does contain various phytochemicals, studies have only looked at their functional properties in rats, in vitro, or topically.

— caroline walder, Good Housekeeping, "Why You Should Eat Avocado Every Single Day," 26 Feb. 2018
She'd been diagnosed with ocular melanoma, a rare eye cancer that had the potential to spread and cross her placenta to infect the babies in vitro.

— elizabeth narins, Cosmopolitan, "I Had My Right Eye Removed During Pregnancy to Save My Babies," 8 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'in vitro.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.