Animal Tissue Culture


The term "tissue culture" refers to the culture of whole of organs, tissue fragments as well as dispersed cells on a suitable nutrient medium.

It can be further subdivided into:

  • Organ Culture
  • Cell Culture


Primary culture: freshly isolated cultures; usually heterogenous and slow growing

Cell lines: subculturing of a primary culture gives cell lines. If the cell line dies after several subcultures- finite cell line. However if it continues to grow indefinately- continuous cell line.


1880 AD- Arnold showed that leucocytes can divide outside the body

1903 AD- Jolly studied the behavior of animal tissue explants immersed in serum, lymph, or ascites fluid.

1907 AD- Harrison cultured frog tadpole spinal chord in a lymph drop hanging from a cover slip of a cavity slide.

1913 AD- Carrel developed a complicated methodology for maintaining cultures free of contamination