Carbene analogs in chemistry are carbenes with the carbon atom replaced by another chemical element. Just as regular carbenes they appear in chemical reactions as reactive intermediates and with special precautions they can be stabilized and isolated as chemical compounds. Carbenes have some practical utility in organic synthesis but carbene analogs are mostly laboratory curiosities only investigated in academia. Carbene analogs are known for elements of group 13, group 14, group 15 and group 16.