What type of test is a "stool culture"?

A stool culture is specifically designed to identify and isolate pathogens present in a stool sample, making it a microbiological test. This process involves growing bacteria or other microorganisms from the sample in a laboratory setting under controlled conditions. The primary purpose of a stool culture is to detect infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, or parasites that may be causing gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain.

While other types of tests, such as immunological tests, focus on detecting antibodies or antigens, or pathological tests, which might examine tissue for disease, stool cultures are distinctly aimed at microbiological analysis. Chemical tests for digestion may assess digestive functions or the presence of certain substances, but they do not directly identify pathogens. Thus, the correct classification of a stool culture aligns with its intended purpose of detecting and identifying infectious microorganisms.