Medical microbiology is a branch within the field of microbiology which focuses on microorganisms of medical interest. Medical microbiologists study organisms which can cause diseases in people, looking at the life cycle of such organisms, how they cause infections in humans, how they spread, what they do to the human body, and how they can be eradicated. People in this field may work in research labs studying microorganisms, or they may work in diagnostic labs, performing tests to identify disease-causing organisms in patients and making treatment recommendations.
Bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and viruses can all cause disease in humans. Humans have been colonized by microorganisms from the beginning of time, and microorganisms are constantly evolving and changing to thwart human attempts at controlling them. The field of medical microbiology is engaged with identifying new microorganisms, monitoring changes in rapidly mutating species, and dealing with ongoing challenges in microbiology, ranging from the development of resistance to antibiotics in bacteria to contamination of water supplies with protozoans.
Like other researchers in microbiology, medical microbiologists are interested in identifying and categorizing the organisms they see. This information can help people see what they are dealing with, and it can assist with the development of treatments. Understanding the relationship between organisms can also be important when researchers explore methods of transmission. The identification process can also include inquiries into the origin and history of an organism; learning where a flu virus developed, for example, can be important to understanding how an epidemic occurred.
In addition to being interested in microorganisms themselves, the field of medical microbiology is also concerned with immunology, looking at human defenses against such organisms and how they can be improved or bolstered. Researchers also study pathology, the course that disease takes in the body, and epidemiology, the science concerned with how and why diseases spread. Medical microbiologists have skills which can be applied to emerging disease outbreaks, ongoing problems with microorganisms, and a variety of other medical challenges.
While in medical school, many doctors spend some time studying medical microbiology, with some physicians spending more time studying this subject than others. Understanding how microorganisms work is important for physicians, because this knowledge can be applied to diagnosis and treatment of infections. Some doctors may go on to focus on the research end of medical microbiology, working to develop new methods of fighting microorganisms and conducting clinical studies to amass information on new drugs, the effectiveness of proposed treatment protocols, and other issues.
Immunology:
Immunology is both the study of the human immune system and the field of medicine that treats diseases of the immune system. Immunity is the body's ability to resist a disease, and the immune system is a bodywide network of interacting systems: bone marrow, white blood cells, the entire lymph system and even the skin. Immunology dates back to ancient civilizations, as it has long been known that certain individuals are naturally immune to some diseases, and that survivors of certain diseases are immune to the disease they survived. Since the immune system is so broad, encompassing everything from blood cells to skin, immunology is a very broad field of study. The treatment of disorders as simple as common allergies and as complex as AIDS all fall under the immunology category.
Flu shots are an example of immunology in action. Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) makes a highly educated guess at which, out of a large number of flu bugs, are likely to be in circulation in the coming year, and formulates the 'flu shot'. Everyone, particularly those with weakened immune systems, is encouraged to get their flu shot, which causes the body to produce its own antibodies to repel those particular flus. If the WHO guesses wrong, and we are invaded by flus for which we have not received artificially induced immunities, a lot of people will come down with the flu.
Arthritis and asthma are diseases of the immune system caused by the body's hypersensitivity to certain substances. Most of the disorders addressed by immunology are those in which the body's own immune system isn't sufficient to ward off disease, and the immune system must be supplemented with external assistance. One of the most intractable of immunology's problems today is a disease that attacks the immune system itself, AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
AIDS leaves the body susceptible to infections that a healthy patient would easily combat with his or her own antibodies. Since the immune system protects the entire body, AIDS leaves the entire body vulnerable and opportunistic infections can attack multiple body organs, severely weakening the patient. A variety of drug therapies today can strengthen the immune system and prolong the life of the AIDS patient, but there is currently no cure.
