Medical Encyclopedia

Pleural culture

A sample of pleural fluid is withdrawn by a needle and sent to the labarotory for testing. The sample pleural fluid is placed on culture plates containing growth media. When colonies of microorganisms have reached sufficient size, a series of biochemical tests can be performed to identify the presence of specific organisms. The test is performed when infection of the pleural space is suspected or when an abnormal collection of pleural fluid is noticed by chest X-ray.