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The term in vitro (Latin for ‘within the glass’) refers to a medical study or experiment that is done in the laboratory within a test tube or laboratory dish.

Medical studies are generally done in vitro first, allowing a substance to be studied safely. In vitro studies allow rapid advancement of new treatments as many drugs can be studied at once in large samples.

Unfortunately, in vitro studies may lead to results that do not correspond to the circumstances occurring inside a living organism.