A sputum culture grows bacteria or fungi from mucus coughed up from the lower airways.
Sputum is thick mucus coughed up from the lower airways. In a culture, the laboratory tries to grow bacteria or fungi from the sample. Sputum is different from saliva, which mainly comes from the mouth.
A sample containing mostly saliva can be dominated by organisms from the mouth and may need to be collected again. Even when an organism grows, clinicians consider symptoms, medical history, other tests, and prior antibiotics before deciding whether it explains the illness.

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