Cell Culture Hood Diagram – Labeled Biosafety Cabinet

All 11 parts on the diagram

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The cabinet 5

Sash The glass panel on the front. You look through it at the work.
Work surface The flat tray where the work is done.
Front grille Slots at the front edge. Room air is drawn down into them.
Rear grille Slots at the back of the work surface. Air is drawn down into them.
Access opening The gap under the sash, at the front. Hands and arms reach in through it.

Filters, blower and air 6

Supply HEPA filter It cleans the air that flows down onto the work surface.
Exhaust HEPA filter It cleans the air that leaves the cabinet.
Blower (fan) A fan that moves all the air. It pulls air in through the grilles and pushes it up to the filters.
Plenum The space between the two filters. The blower pushes the air into it.
Downflow air Filtered air that flows down over the work surface.
Inflow (room air) Room air drawn in through the access opening. It goes down the front grille.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-02 and kept only where at least two of these use it. (1) US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health, Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, 6th edition, Appendix A, Primary Containment for Biohazards (a US government work), full text read at https://archive.org/details/biosafety-in-microbiological-and-biomedical-laboratories-6th-edition : the Class II cabinet's sash, exhaust HEPA filter, supply HEPA filter, common plenum, blower (internal fan), front grille, rear grille, work surface, the downward flow of HEPA-filtered air, room air and inflow; it calls the opening under the sash the front opening. (2) Wikipedia, Biosafety cabinet, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosafety_cabinet : front sash, access openings, blowers (fans), the air grille with the front grille and the rear grille, work surface, the plenum from which air goes back down through a HEPA filter over the work zone or out of the cabinet through a HEPA filter, downflow air, inflow air. (3) A cabinet maker's user's manual for Class II biological safety cabinets, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6857315 : the sash and its glass, the front access opening, work surface, front grille, rear grille, the motor and blower that pull room air into the front of the cabinet, the plenum that feeds both HEPA filters, supply HEPA filter, exhaust HEPA filter, downflow, inflow. The drawing puts the blower under the work surface with a channel up the back, the layout of the Class II, type A figure in a university biological safety manual, https://archive.org/details/biological-safety-manual-bsl-2-utrgv ; figure 3 of the government manual shows the same kind of cabinet with its blower at the top. That a cell culture hood is a laminar flow hood or a biosafety cabinet is from a World Health Organization regional handbook, Use of Cell Culture in Virology for Developing Countries in the South-East Asia Region (2017), https://archive.org/details/cell_culture , and from Wikipedia, Cell culture, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_culture ; the name tissue culture hood is from Wikipedia, Laminar flow cabinet, and a cabinet maker's article on cabinet classes, https://www.nuaire.com/resources/biosafety-cabinet-classes-article . Labels, hints, detail lines and position notes were written for this site. Names only: nothing here says how to use a cabinet. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-02 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This cell culture hood diagram is a biosafety cabinet cut from the side, front at the left: the sash, the work surface, the two grilles, the blower and the two HEPA filters. Tap a part to read what it does.

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Where the air goes

The blower draws room air in through the access opening and down the front grille. It moves the air up the back of the cabinet and into the plenum. From there part of the air leaves through the exhaust HEPA filter, and the rest goes down through the supply HEPA filter.

Over the work surface

The filtered air flows down onto the work surface. Just above it the stream splits: part goes to the front grille and part to the rear grille, and the blower takes it around again.

HEPA stands for high-efficiency particulate air. The filters are drawn as pleated strips.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a cell culture hood?

A glass sash on the front with an opening under it, a work surface with a grille at its front and rear edges, a blower, a plenum, a supply HEPA filter over the work area and an exhaust HEPA filter where air leaves.

Is a cell culture hood the same as a biosafety cabinet?

Often, yes. A cell culture hood is a biosafety cabinet or a laminar flow hood, and it is also called a tissue culture hood. The one drawn here is a biosafety cabinet, with filtered air flowing down over the work surface.

What does a HEPA filter do in a cell culture hood?

It traps tiny particles as air passes through it. This cabinet has two: the supply filter cleans the air that flows down onto the work surface, and the exhaust filter cleans the air that leaves the cabinet.

How does air flow in a cell culture hood?

Room air is drawn in at the access opening and goes down the front grille. Filtered air flows down from the supply filter onto the work surface, then into the front and rear grilles. A blower moves it all.

What is the sash on a cell culture hood?

The sash is the glass panel on the front of the cabinet. The user looks through it and reaches in through the opening below it.