Gastric culture

Alternative names:

culture of gastric contents

Normal values:

Normally no bacteria are present in the culture.

What abnormal results mean:

There are several types of mycobacteria that may be cultured. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the strain that causes the disease known as tuberculosis. Other strains can produce disease states that are indistinguishable from tuberculosis: Mycobacterium bovis, Mycobacterium kansasii, and Mycobacterium avium.