Art in the teaching of microbiology?

What will they think of next?

Actually, art in the form of paintings, scientific illustration and portraiture has been associated with microbiology instruction from the very beginning. Von Leeuwenhoek's drawings of his animalcules, Koch's drawings of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Charles Bell's painting of a British soldier dying of tetanus during the Crimean War and the classic paintings of Pasteur by Edelfeldt are just a few examples. Even the instruments produced during the birth and infancy of our science qualify as works of art.

Well, OK, you might agree that art was important prior to the advent of the photographic image but still be wondering why there is any compelling reason to use art today in the teaching of microbiology.

If all of our students were microbiology or science majors, to whom the science alone is enough to engage their attention, the case for using art in teaching might be a weaker one. But, microbiology students are a very diverse group and many come to our classes only because their majors require them to do so. Coming from a very different orientation, these students may need a focal point to draw their interest and attention. I have found that for many, art can provide that focal point. The painting of "Rachael Weeping", for example, by Charles Wilson Peale, the Revolutionary War artist, is an excellent vehicle through which to introduce the enzyme lysozyme, no student is likely to forget the effects of tetanus exotoxin once having seen Charles Bell's painting mentioned above. The painting by Thom, showing the historical moment when Fleming, Florey and Chain met for the first time to discuss progress in the development of penicillin can serve as a spring board to introduce topics such as the origin of antibiotics and the nature of the scientific process in general.

These then are among the reasons for using art in science teaching:

For those of you who have already discovered this avenue for enlivening your classes with art, the follwing collection will add images that you may find useful. For those of you who have not yet used art in your classrooms, this collection is offered as a beginning collection for your consideration.

Each image in the collection is offered in two forms, a thumbnail sketch with a description and some suggestions on how it might be used. Clicking on the thumb nail will bring up a full screen image. Prior to its inclusion in the collection, permission has been received from the owner of the image to use the picture in the manner intended, that is, for educational purposes only. Any other use, such as inclusion in a manuscript, instructional video to be sold, etc. would require specific permission from the owner. Some some older images are considered to be in the"public domain". Examples of fair use as obtained form the owner include

Since images of this sort use large amounts of server space, the number of images in the collection at any one time will be modest. It is intended that the collection will rotate as new permissions are received. New images will be marked as such and the date of accession will be included. You can develop you own collection by downloading images and storing them at your site for subsequent use. We are always looking for new images for which permission can be obtained that will add to the depth and breadth of the revolving collection. Suggestions would be much appreciated. Please send suggestions along with a photocopy of the image and any information you can locate on the artist, the date (approx.) and the owner to John and Arlene Lennox, Penn State Altoona, 3000 Ivyside Park, Altoona PA 16603 We will take it from there. Just be patient with us. Not all owners give permission. This is a low (read that as no) budget operation. There are no funds to pay royalities for use. Furthermore, even when the owner is cooperative, the negotiations take time. This is a new area of fair use and copyright law. Many owners are understandably cautious about giving permission to put images they own on the internet. 

The Microbiolgy Image Gallery

Ehrlich: Chemotherapy is Launched_____

In 1910, Dr. Paul Ehrlich and his Japanese associate Dr. Sahachiro Hata announced the discovery of Salversan (606) to the world as a "chemical bullet" for the treatment of syphilis. This painting depicts Ehrlich and Hata at Frankfurt's Institute of Experimental Therapy, Germany. Ehrlich shared the 1908 Nobel Prize in medicine for his work in immunology. This painting by Robert A. Thom appeared in "Great Moments in Medicine" published by Parke Davis & Company, in 1966. It is reproduced here with the permission of Parke Davis & Company.

Lister Introduces Antisepsis_____

"When Surgeon Joseph Lister (1827-1912) of Glascow Royal Infirmary removed dressings from James Greenlees' compound fracture, he found the wound had healed without infection-something unheard of before. For six weeks, Lister had treated the boy's wound with carbolic acid. Now Listerhad proof of success of his principle of antisepsis-which was to revolutionize methods of treatment and to open new vistas in practice of surgery, of medicine, and of environmental sanitation". This painting by Robert A. Thom appeared in "Great Moments in Medicine" published by Parke Davis & Company, in 1966. The text quted is from the same source. Both are reproduced with the permission of Parke Davis & Company.

Pasteur: the Chemist Who Transformed Medicine_____

"Proof that microbes are reproduced from parent organisms, and do not result from spontaneous generation, came from careful experiments in makeshift laboratories of France's famed chemist and biologist, Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), at the Ecole Normale, Paris. Behind him are portraies of his father and mother, which he painted during his youth. Mme. Pasteur waits patiently for him to complete an observation." On the table is a replica of the experiment of Lizaro Spalanzani. Pasteur is holding one of his "Swan-necked" flasks. This painting by Robert A. Thom appeared in "Great Moments in Medicine" published by Parke Davis & Company, in 1966. The text quoted is from the same source. Both are reproduced with the permission of Parke Davis & Company.

Semmelweis: Defender of Motherhood_____

"Hungarian physician Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818-1865), while Assistant at the First Obstetric Clinic of Vienna's great Allgemeines Krankenkhaus in 1847, discovered means of preventing puerperal fever: he insisted that physicians and medical students wash their hands in chlorinated solution before entering obstetric wards and again before examining each patient. His rule was much resented and opposed - but hundreds of mothers' lives were saved. Though his doctrin was proved repeatedly, in hospitals in Vienna and in Budapest, most of his contemporaries opposed it; and both depressed from worry and broken-hearted from disappointment, Semmelweis died at age 47, of blood poisoning, the infection he had fought so valiantly to prevent in mothers under his care." This painting by Robert A. Thom appeared in "Great Moments in Medicine" published by Parke Davis & Company, in 1966. The text quoted is from the same source. Both are reproduced with the permission of Parke Davis & Company.

Jenner: Smallpox is Stemmed_____

"The first vaccination against smallpox was performed by Edward Jenner, English rural physician, in his apartment in the Chantry House, Berkeley Gloucestershire. Exudate from a cowpox pustule on the hand of a dairymaid, Sarah Nelmes, was inserted into scratches on the arm of eight-year-old James Phipps, May 14, 1796. The vaccination was effective, for two later attempts to induce infection with smallpox were unsuccessful. Proving and reproving his discovery, Jenner published his vaccination findings in 1798. Dispite opposition, vaccination became accepted practice during Jenner's lifetime." This painting by Robert A. Thom appeared in "Great Moments in Medicine" published by Parke Davis & Company, in 1966. The text quoted is from the same source. Both are reproduced with the permission of Parke Davis & Company.

Leeuwenhoek and the "Little Animals"_____

"Antony von Leeuwenhoek, draper of seventeenth-century Delft, Holland, in his spare time retired to his "closet" to observe the wonders of the microscopic world through tiny lenses he laboriously ground and mounted. He was first to report having seen "animalcules" -protozoa and bacteria- and to confirm by direct observation circulation of the blood. Through 200 years elapsed before practical application of his discoveries contributed to medicine, his work laid the foundation of modern medicine's tremendous century-long onslaught against disease caused by bacteria and other microbiologic entities-a world-wide campaign which has resulted in saving millions of lives." This painting by Robert A. Thom appeared in "Great Moments in Medicine" published by Parke Davis & Company, in 1966. The text quoted is from the same source. Both are reproduced with the permission of Parke Davis & Company.

The Conquest of Yellow Fever_____

"Methods of controlling and preventing yellow fever resulted from investigations conducted in 1900 at Camp Lazear, Cuba, by a United States Army commission led by Major Walter Reed (1851-1902). This research proved conclusively that mosquitoes carry the yellow fever from person to person. First volunteer patient to be infectedby mosquito bite was Private John Kissinger. Examining physicians were Major W.C. Gorgas, Havana sanitation officer; Dr. A. Agramonte, pathologist; Dr. Carlos J. Finlay, chairman of the cooperating Cuban Yellow Fever Commission and first man to point to the possible infective role of mosquitoes; Dr. James Carroll, bacteriologist and Dr. Reed, Commission Chairman." This painting by Robert A. Thom appeared in "Great Moments in Medicine" published by Parke Davis & Company, in 1966. The text quoted is from the same source. Both are reproduced with the permission of Parke Davis & Company.

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