ScienceAugust 12, 2026

biospecimen

BY-oh-SPES-uh-mun

Definition

A biological sample, such as blood, tissue, or cells, collected from a human participant for use in medical and genomic research.

Etymology

The word is a modern portmanteau derived from the Greek 'bios' meaning life, and the Latin 'specimen' meaning a token, proof, or sample. It emerged in the late 20th century to specifically categorize human biological samples used for scientific study.

In the news

The article uses the term to describe the materials managed by the new resource at Vanderbilt Health. It is crucial because high-quality biospecimens are the foundation for the genomic discoveries conducted at the facility.

Alexander Bick to lead cutting-edge resource for genomic discovery at Vanderbilt Health

Read the full article ↗

Vanderbilt Health News

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