Morphological operations are image processing techniques used to analyze and manipulate the shapes and structures within an image. They are primarily applied to binary images, where pixels are either black or white, to enhance features like edges, contours, and shapes. Common operations include dilation, which expands the boundaries of shapes, and erosion, which shrinks them. These operations rely on a structuring element, a small shape or template that defines how the operation is applied. By combining dilation and erosion, more complex operations like opening and closing can be performed, helping to remove noise or fill gaps in images.