medical interventions

Lab equipment name and functions

agar plate

A petri dish containing a nutrient medium solidified with agar.

Incubator

A device used to grow and maintain microbiological cultures or cell cultures.

inoculating loop

Used to pick up and transfer bacteria.

Incubator shaker

Incubator with rotating rack for flasks, and circulating air to keep liquid cultures well “aerated” and at a fixed temperature.

Water bath

A container of water heated to a given temperature, used for heating substances placed in smaller containers.

Beaker

Flat-bottomed glass container used in laboratories for holding and heating liquids.

Erlenmeyer flask

Used to hold and heat liquids, has narrow neck to prevent splashes.

Test tubes

Holds liquids for observation or testing.

Conical tube

Capped tube used to hold chemical substances.

Media bottle

Glass container used to store agar, broth, chemicals, among other liquid substances.

Graduated cylinder

Used to accurately measure the volume of a liquid.

transfer pipet

Plastic pipettes used to transfer small amounts of liquids, but are not graduated or calibrated for any particular volume.

Micropipettes

Precisely measures very small amounts of liquids.

Pipet aids

Used to either pick up liquids into or expel liquids out of pipettes.

serological pipet

Used for transferring milliliter volumes of liquid.

Analytical balance

Used for determining mass at up to four decimal places.

Top-loading balance

Used for determining mass at up to two decimal places.

Emergency eye wash station

Used to flush eyes in case of chemical contact.

Fume hood

Used to prevent a person from exposure to hazardous fumes from chemicals.

Safety shower

Used to rinse hazardous chemicals off of the skin or clothing.

Biosafety cabinet

Enclosed and ventilated laboratory workspace for safely working with materials that are contaminated with pathogens.

Clean bench

Aseptic work area; does not provide personal protection.

Autoclave

Pressure chamber that is used to sterilize equipment and supplies. Uses high temperature steam that kills any and all organisms (including spores).

Horizontal electrophoresis chamber

Plastic chamber used for DNA and RNA electrophoresis.

vertical electrophoresis chamber

Plastic chamber used for protein electrophoresis.

stir plate or stirrer

Device used with a magnetic stir bar to provide stirring action in a liquid.

Vortexer

A machine that will vigorously shake a container to mix the contents.

Spectrophotometer

An instrument that measures the proportions of light of different wavelengths absorbed and transmitted by a pigment solution.

Clinical centrifuge

Used in the separation of serum, plasma and urea in blood samples, and for other routine applications in hospital and research laboratories.

Microcentrifuge

Separates materials from small samples based on density.

Bright-field microscope (compound)

Uses lenses and light to view objects or specimens that are too small to be seen with just the human eye that are either dark or transparent.

transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)

An electron microscope used to study the internal structure of thin sections of cells and other specimens.

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

n electron microscope used to study the details of cell surfaces.