Medical Dictionary

petri dish

noun pe·tri dish \ˈpē-trē-\

Medical Definition of PETRI DISH

:  a small shallow dish of thin glass or plastic with a loose cover used especially for cultures in bacteriology

Biographical Note for PETRI DISH

Pe·tri \ˈpā-trē\ , Julius Richard (1852–1921), German bacteriologist. Petri was an assistant to the eminent bacteriologist Robert Koch. In 1887 Petri introduced a vessel for growing bacteria that consists of two round rimmed plates, one serving as a cover for the other.

Browse

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.
Test your vocab with our fun, fast game
Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears