Morphological operations are image processing techniques used to analyze and manipulate the shapes and structures within binary images. They rely on the mathematical concepts of set theory and are primarily used to remove noise, fill gaps, and extract relevant features from images. Common operations include dilation, erosion, opening, and closing, each serving specific purposes in enhancing image quality. These operations work by applying a structuring element, which is a small shape or template, to the image. By sliding this element over the image, morphological operations can modify the image's structure based on the arrangement of pixels. This makes them valuable in various applications, such as computer vision and image analysis.