Blood Agar Basics
This general-purpose enriched medium is used to grow many organisms and determine hemolysis patterns.
What is Blood Agar?
This agar selects for Gram-negative bacteria and differentiates lactose fermenters from non-fermenters.
What is MacConkey Agar?
This selective agar is commonly used to isolate Salmonella and Shigella from stool specimens.
What is Hektoen Enteric Agar (HEK)?
This enriched chocolate-colored medium is used to recover fastidious respiratory organisms.
What is Chocolate Agar?
This medium is commonly used to grow anaerobic organisms from deep tissue or abscess specimens.
What is Anaerobic Blood Agar?
This organism commonly produces beta hemolysis on Blood Agar and is associated with strep throat.
What is Streptococcus pyogenes?
On this agar, lactose fermenters appear pink.
What is MacConkey Agar?
On Hektoen Enteric Agar, this organism may produce black-centered colonies due to hydrogen sulfide production.
What is Salmonella species?
This organism requires Chocolate Agar and is associated with meningitis and gonorrhea.
What is Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Neisseria meningitidis?
This agar is commonly used to isolate fungi and yeasts.
What is Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA)?
This organism produces alpha hemolysis on Blood Agar and is commonly associated with pneumonia and meningitis.
What is Streptococcus pneumoniae?
This organism is a lactose fermenter commonly producing pink colonies on MacConkey Agar.
What is Escherichia coli?
This agar is commonly used for stool cultures and differentiates lactose fermenters from enteric pathogens.
What is MacConkey Agar?
This organism commonly requires Chocolate Agar because it needs X and V factors.
What is Haemophilus influenzae?
This yeast commonly grows creamy white colonies on SDA.
What is Candida albicans?
This organism often produces large beta-hemolytic colonies on Blood Agar and is associated with skin infections.
What is Staphylococcus aureus?
This organism is a non-lactose fermenter that commonly produces colorless colonies on MacConkey Agar.
What is Salmonella species?
This selective medium is used for Campylobacter species and is incubated at 42°C.
What is Campy Agar or Campylobacter Selective Agar?
This selective chocolate-based medium is commonly used for pathogenic Neisseria species.
What is Thayer-Martin Agar?
This is the most important safety rule in CLS microbiology.
What is treat all specimens as infectious material?
This anaerobic blood agar plate is commonly used to recover anaerobic bacteria from deep wounds.
What is Anaerobic Blood Agar?
This medium is selective for Gram-positive organisms such as Staphylococci and turns yellow when mannitol is fermented.
What is Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA)?
This enrichment broth may be used before plating stool specimens for Salmonella recovery.
What is Selenite Broth?
This plate may be used for cystic fibrosis respiratory cultures because it helps isolate Burkholderia cepacia complex.
What is BCSA (Burkholderia cepacia Selective Agar)?
This fungal medium has a low pH to inhibit bacterial growth.
What is Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA)?