flow cytometry

cytometry /cy·tom·e·try/ (-tre) the characterization and measurement of cells and cellular constituents.

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flow cytometry  a technique for counting cells suspended in fluid as they flow one at a time past a focus of exciting light.

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flow cytometry,

a technique in which cells suspended in a fluid flow one at a time through a focus of exciting light, which is scattered in patterns characteristic to the cells and their components. They are often labeled with fluorescent markers so that light is first absorbed and then emitted at altered frequencies. A sensor detecting the scattered or emitted light measures the size and molecular characteristics of individual cells. Tens of thousands of cells can be examined per minute and the data gathered are processed by computer.

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flow cytometry (flōˑ sī·tˑ·m·trē),

n technique used to determine cell size and granularity by shining a strong, focused beam of light on the cell and then measuring the scattered light.

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flow cytometry

a technique used to identify and separate different types of cells based on detecting and measuring the fluorescence emitted with a laser light beam. See also fluorescence microscopy.

A typical flow cytometer readout from labelling a cell population with antiequine CD4. By permission from Tizard IR, Veterinary Immunology An Introduction, Saunders, 2001

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flow cytometry

Lab medicine Analysis of biological material by detecting the light-absorbing or fluorescing properties of cells or subcellular fractions such as chromosomes that have been labeled with monoclonal antibodies raised against various antigens, tagged with fluorochrome markers and passed in a narrow stream through a laser beam; the cells can be separated with automated sorting devices by size, intensity and type of fluorescence, and DNA ploidy analyzed. See Cell sorting, Cf Image analysis, Laser scanning cytometry.