∞ generated and posted on 2016.02.28 ∞
Means of growing and characterizing especially animal and plant cells in flasks, that is, isolated from the bodies within which they would normally reside.
Cell culture actually isn't completely synonymous with tissue culture where the definition of latter particularly would drop the "especially" from the above definition. That is, cell culture is a more general concept, potentially describing the of cells from a greater diversity of sources beyond animals and plants.
My tendency is to use the two terms synonymously but with a bias towards the use "tissue culture" rather "cell culture" unless "tissue culture" truly is not warranted whereas "cell culture" is. Nevertheless, "cell culture" is used approximately twice as often as "tissue culture":