SITU (SEE-too)
In
Situ: In the original position
Common
clues: In
___: unmoved; In ___ (legalese for original position); In ___
(undisturbed); In ___ (as found); In ___ (as placed)
Crossword
puzzle frequency:
2 times a year
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History
in Situ
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In
Situ Arrowhead
In
situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. It is used in many
different contexts.
In
legal context, in situ is often used for its literal meaning. For
example, in Hong Kong, in situ land exchange involves the
government exchanging the original or expired lease of a piece of
land with a new grant or re-grant with the same piece of land or
a portion of that.
In
literature in situ is used to describe a condition. The Rosetta
Stone, for example, was originally erected in a courtyard, for
public viewing. Most pictures of the famous stone are not
"in-situ" pictures of it erected, as it would have been
originally. The stone was uncovered as part of building material,
within a wall. Its in situ condition today is that it is erected,
vertically, on public display at the British Museum.
In
biology, in situ means to examine the phenomenon exactly in place
where it occurs (i.e. without moving it to some special medium).
This usually means something intermediate between in vivo and in
vitro. For example, examining a cell within a whole organ intact
and under perfusion may be in situ investigation. This would not
be in vivo as the donor is sacrificed before experimentation, but
it would not be the same as working with the cell alone (a common
scenario in in vitro experiments).
This
article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "In situ".
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