Library · Test
Stool culture
Make it clearer
A stool culture, also called a fecal culture, is a laboratory test that looks in the stool for organisms that can cause symptoms and disease of the digestive tract. It is ordered when a doctor suspects an intestinal infection.
What happens in the lab is easy to describe. A technician places the sample in a dish with a gel that encourages bacteria and other germs to grow: it is a culture medium, food prepared for them. The germ is given the food it prefers, and then you wait to see who shows up. If something grows, it is then identified to find out which germ it is.
A routine stool culture is the ideal test for finding three bacteria in particular: Salmonella, Campylobacter and Shigella. And when a fresh stool sample cannot be obtained, a rectal swab can be used instead, meaning a sample collected with a swab.
In brief
A stool culture looks in the stool for organisms that can cause digestive symptoms and disease.
A technician places the sample in a dish with a gel that encourages bacteria or other germs to grow; if something grows, the technician identifies it.
The germ is given the food it prefers, and then you wait to see who shows up.
A routine stool culture is the ideal test for identifying Salmonella, Campylobacter and Shigella; when fresh stool is not available, a rectal swab will do.
Sources (2)
- MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, U.S. National Library of MedicineFecal culture, MedlinePlus Medical EncyclopediaPublished
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingBacterial Diarrhea, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated