The Hidden Beauty in Biomedical Imaging

Abstract

Caretakers, researchers and photographers working in a busy academic settings, every day are faced with images that are awe-inspiring for their beauty and for the terror they may represent to patients suffering from disease. Beauty in this context is a relative term. It may be seen as the delicate lacework of cells within the normal human brain reminiscent of a Jackson Pollack masterpiece, or the multitude of colors and textures formed by fungal organisms in a microbiology lab. Herein lies the juxtaposition image makers seek to represent. When contemplated in isolation, each represents a visually interesting image. However, when viewed with an awareness of the context in which the image was obtained, each image takes on the ability to evoke an alternative human emotion.