Biological specimen

A biological specimen (also called a biospecimen) is a biologicallaboratory specimen held by a biorepository for research, education, or diagnostics. Such a specimen would be taken by sampling so as to be representative of any other specimen taken from the source of the specimen. When biological specimens are stored, ideally they remain equivalent to freshly-collected specimens for the purposes of research.

Human biological specimens are stored in a type of biorepository called a biobank, and the science of preserving biological specimens is most active in the field of biobanking.