in vitro

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

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Definition of in vitro

: outside the living body and in an artificial environment

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Recent Examples of in vitro from the Web

In 2008, after years of struggling with infertility, including 13 failed in vitro treatments and numerous failed adoption attempts, Vardalos and Gomez finally matched with a 3-year-old girl, their daughter Ilaria, People reports.

— eileen reslen, Good Housekeeping, "'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' Star Nia Vardalos Files for Divorce From Husband of 25 Years," 5 July 2018
Over 50,000 babies were born last year with the help of in vitro fertilisation (IVF)—5% of all births.

— The Economist, "No country resorts to IVF more than Japan—or has less success," 24 May 2018
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

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.