Image Sources and Attribution
Where real microbiology images come from, and the rule for what may be AI-generated.
Parent: Learning Media Hub · Map: Encyclopedia Map
The rule in this vault
Never use an AI-generated image as scientific evidence
An AI model does not know what Staphylococcus aureus actually looks like on a Gram stain. It produces something plausible, not something true. Using such an image to learn morphology will teach you the wrong thing.
| Image purpose | AI-generated allowed? |
|---|---|
| Decorative banner / section header | ✅ |
| Conceptual schematic with no factual micro-detail (arrows, layers, workflow) | ✅ with review |
| Micrograph, Gram stain, colony morphology, agar plate, histology | ❌ never |
| Radiology, clinical photograph of a patient | ❌ never |
| Anything you would cite in a report or exam answer | ❌ never |
For anything factual, use a real image from a source below and record the attribution.
Public-domain and open-licence sources
| Source | What it has | Licence | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDC PHIL (Public Health Image Library) | Gram stains, colonies, EM of pathogens, clinical images | Mostly public domain (check each) | phil.cdc.gov |
| Wikimedia Commons | Broad; variable quality | CC-BY / CC-BY-SA / PD — check per file | commons.wikimedia.org |
| NIAID Flickr | High-quality SEM of bacteria, biofilms | CC-BY 2.0 | flickr.com/photos/niaid |
| PDB / RCSB | Protein structures, ready-made images | Public domain | rcsb.org |
| AlphaFold DB | Predicted structures (AlphaFold in Microbiology) | CC-BY 4.0 | alphafold.ebi.ac.uk |
| EMBL-EBI / Ensembl Bacteria | Genome browser screenshots | Check terms | bacteria.ensembl.org |
| Open-access papers (PMC) | Figures under CC licences | Per-article licence | pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov |
| Servier Medical Art | Vector medical/biology elements | CC-BY 4.0 | smart.servier.com |
| BioRender | Publication-grade figures | Subscription; check export rights | biorender.com |
Textbook figures are not free
Scanned Jawetz/Murray figures are copyrighted. Keep them out of anything you publish or share; for private study notes, cite page and figure number instead of copying.
Attribution snippet to paste under any real image
![[filename.png]]
*Source: <title>, <author/agency>. <Licence>. Retrieved <date> from <URL>.*Worked example:
![[gram-stain-saureus-phil-2296.jpg]]
*Source: Gram stain of Staphylococcus aureus, CDC PHIL #2296. Public domain. Retrieved 2026-08-01 from https://phil.cdc.gov/*Images currently in this vault
| File | Type | Origin | Used in |
|---|---|---|---|
banner-computational-microbiology.png | Decorative banner | AI-generated (2026-08-01) | MOC - Bioinformatics in Microbiology · Computational Microbiology Study Path |
banner-history-microbiology.png | Decorative banner | AI-generated (2026-08-01) | Medical Microbiology History |
schematic-gram-envelope.png | Conceptual schematic, reviewed | AI-generated (2026-08-01) | Figure - Gram Envelope Comparison |
All three are stored in 04_Figures_and_Media/Images/.
Wanted list (real images still needed)
These would genuinely improve the notes and must come from a real source:
- Gram stain photomicrograph, Gram-positive cocci in clusters → Gram Stain · Staphylococcus aureus
- Gram stain, Gram-negative rods → Escherichia coli
- Ziehl-Neelsen acid-fast smear → Acid-Fast Stain
- Blood agar with alpha/beta haemolysis → Culture and Isolation
- MacConkey agar, lactose fermenter vs non-fermenter → Escherichia coli · Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Disk diffusion plate with zones → Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing
- E-test gradient strip → Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing
- SEM of a biofilm → Biofilm
- AlphaFold structure screenshot of a β-lactamase → AlphaFold in Microbiology
- Nextstrain tree screenshot → Phylodynamics