The LIPID MAPS® Lipidomics Core is a service core at the University of California, San Diego that provides cost-effective lipidomics analyses using gas or liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Lipidomics is defined as the global analysis of all lipid molecular species of a system, their cellular and extracellular functions, interactions, and their dynamic changes that occur in health and disease. Lipids show immense structural diversity that is mirrored by enormous variations in their physiological functions. In view of the importance of lipids to biological and pathophysiological processes, detailed knowledge of the composition and concentration of lipid metabolites is necessary to fully comprehend and integrate metabolic networks at the cellular and systemic level. Historically, wide-scaled profiling of such a complex and dynamic lipidome has been difficult to perform. Recent advances in biochemical methodologies and analytical platforms, specifically in the area of chromatography and mass spectrometry, have filled this void. The integrated application of these tools facilitates the accurate measurement of lipids.