Inoculation
Inoculation , noun
[Latin inoculatio: compare French inoculation.]
1.
The act or art of inoculating trees or plants.
2.
(Medicine) The act or practice of communicating a disease to a person in health, by inserting contagious matter in his skin or flesh, usually for the purpose of inducing immunity to the disease.
The use was formerly limited to the intentional communication of the smallpox, but is now extended to include any similar introduction of modified virus; as, the inoculation of rabies by Pasteur. The organisms inoculated are usually an attentuated form of the disease-causing organism, which may multiply harmlessly in the body of the host, but induce immunity to the more virulent forms of the organism.
3.
Figuratively: The communication of principles, especially false principles, to the mind.
4.
(Microbiology) The introduction of microorganisms into a growth medium, to cause the growth and multiplication of the microorganisms.