What is the Difference Between Medical Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology

The main difference between medical microbiology and clinical microbiology is that medical microbiology is the study of characteristics of pathogens, mode of transmission, and growth, whereas clinical microbiology is the study of microbes that cause infection in humans.

Medical microbiology and clinical microbiology are two related subject areas in microbiology, which studies infectious microorganisms in humans. However, clinical microbiology is a branch of medical microbiology.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Medical Microbiology
   • Definition, Features, Importance
2. What is Clinical Microbiology
   • Definition, Features, Importance
3. Similarities Between Medical Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology
   • Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between Medical Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology
   • Comparison with Key Differences

Key Terms

Clinical Microbiology, Medical Microbiology, Infection

What is Medical Microbiology

Medical microbiology is a large study area of microbiology applied to medicine. Therefore, it is a branch of medicine too. It concerns the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infectious diseases.  The field of medical microbiology studies various clinical applications of microbes in order to improve health. Moreover, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites are the four major types of infectious agents.

Figure 1: Medical Microbiology

Furthermore, medical microbiology studies the characteristics of pathogens, modes of transmission, and mechanisms of infection and growth. The other targets of medical microbiology include the identification of potential health risks to the community or monitoring the evolution of potentially virulent or resistant strains of microbes, educating the community, and assisting in the design of health practices. Moreover, the two subdivisions of medical microbiology include public health microbiology (a highly interdisciplinary field that includes anyone involved with the microorganisms and infectious diseases that impact human health), and clinical microbiology (the study of microbes that cause infection in humans).

What is Clinical Microbiology

Clinical microbiology is a field of medical microbiology that studies microbes that cause infection in humans. It also focuses on the isolation and characterization of infectious organisms to manage and treat in patients. The main causes of infections are bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. In order to diagnose the infection, the patient’s sample needs to be collected at a body site. Generally, the detection of pathogens is along with biomarkers. Generally, the testing procedure of the pathogen is specific and sensitive enough to the infectious agent. The results of the test are given to a clinician.

Figure 2: Clinical Specimens

Moreover, clinical microbiology is the first discipline of personalized medicine. For instance, a patient has the signs and symptoms of a urinary tract infection, including increased urgency, frequency, and pain with urination. Within 24 hours, the clinical microbiology laboratory should report the species and quantity of bacteria found in the urine. Then, the clinician can choose antibiotics for the pathogen.

Similarities Between Medical Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology

• Medical microbiology and clinical microbiology are two relevant fields of microbiology involved in the study and diagnosis the microbial infections in humans.
• Both studies consider bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi.

Difference Between Medical Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology

Definition

Medical microbiology refers to the study of characteristics of pathogens, mode of transmission, and growth while clinical microbiology is the study of microbes that cause infection in humans.  

Significance

Usually, medical microbiology is a branch of microbiology related to medical science while clinical microbiology is a part of medical microbiology.

Importance

Medical microbiology studies the characteristics of pathogens while clinical microbiology studies the microbes that infect humans.

Conclusion

In brief, medical microbiology is a field of microbiology that relates to the medical sciences. It studies the characteristics of pathogens: bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi, their mode of transmission, and growth. On the other hand, clinical microbiology is one of the two parts of medical microbiology while the other part is public health microbiology. Usually, clinical microbiology studies the microbes that infect humans. Therefore, the main difference between medical microbiology and clinical microbiology is that clinical microbiology is a part of medical microbiology.

References:

1. Baron S, editor. Medical Microbiology. 4th edition. Galveston (TX): University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 1996. 

Image Courtesy:

1. “Manusingmicroscope ” By Maksim – Own Work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “K pneumoniae M morganii providencia styphimuriuma ” By User:Eukaryotica – Own Work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia