Free-Write #1

I have learned a lot of things about how microbial communities and humans interact this term, which has enriched my current understanding of many biomedical concepts. For instance, I’ve learned plenty about the integument and the gastrointestinal tract, but I had not been forced to consider the impact of microbial communities on these organ systems. In our body, bacterial cells (in number) outnumber our own human cells, further speaking to the impact these communities have on our health and our physiology. Throughout this class, I have pondered why I had never learned about how these microbes impact these systems before, at least in the depth we covered it. One of the most interesting things we have learned about so far for me wasn’t even about the microbes themselves, it was about the stigma surrounding the study itself. My greatest fascinations lie in why, for the most part, does the western medical community see microbial impacts as a secondary aspect of our health? Microbiology is a science as valid as any other, yet there’s an unspoken stigma about discussing microbial impacts on our health beyond that”they have an effect.”

Free-Write #2

Why, for the most part, does the western medical community see microbial impacts as a secondary aspect of our health?

I find it curious as to why western biomedicine fails to consider the whole picture of our health, including our microbiome. It is just as fascinating to consider why doctors don’t think about microbial communities as it is to consider how microbial communities impact our health. Many of my favorite classes that I have taken pertaining to my degree have been in sociology, bioethics, anthropology, and public health. Why has the medical community built a culture around neglecting the importance of microbiomes in our organism? Is it a stigma? Has the field not progressed far enough to be of use? I doubt the latter point, as any knowledge in any quantity can be vital for the healthcare on individuals. Maybe this approach is not profitable for the insurance companies and hospitals that run a business out of medical treatment.

Reflection

After getting my thoughts down on paper, if possible, I would like to look at how medicine has regarded and disregarded microbial research. I know we have talked about ways in which microbiology and medicine have worked together, such as the discovery of H. pylori as the causative agent of peptic ulcers. We’ve also talked about ways in which it has been disregarded, such as the vaginal microbiome, which medicine has largely disregarded (which may be part of a larger problem of disregarding female health).