inokulation

Inokulation is an alternate spelling of inoculation, a term used across medicine, microbiology, and botany to denote the deliberate introduction of a substance or organism into a host or environment. The word derives from Latin inoculare, meaning to graft or implant, with inoculum referring to the thing to be implanted.

In the medical sense, inoculation historically referred to introducing material from a pathogen to induce immunity, a practice known as variolation. Variolation used smallpox material to produce a milder infection and, in turn, some protection against smallpox; it carried significant risks. The development of safer vaccination—using cowpox material by Edward Jenner and later using attenuated or inactivated pathogens—led to the modern emphasis on vaccination and immunization rather than traditional inoculation as a medical procedure. Today, inoculation in clinical contexts is more commonly described as vaccination or immunization, though some historical or regional usages retain the older term.

In microbiology, inoculation means introducing microorganisms into a culture medium or into a host to initiate growth, study pathogenicity, or produce a biotechnological product. This requires sterile technique and containment to prevent unintended exposure or contamination. In plant science and agriculture, inoculation refers to introducing pathogens to plants to study disease resistance or to apply beneficial organisms, such as inoculating legume seeds withRhizobium bacteria to promote nitrogen fixation.

Overall, inokulation denotes the act of introducing something into a living system or environment, with the precise meaning depending on the biological context.