Spindly creatures reach forward with octopus-like tentacles and slither across the surface of a deep underground cave, leaving a sticky web of fibres in their wake... 

A scene from the latest sci-fi horror film? Not quite. It's actually a scene that's probably taking place right now, beneath your very own skin?

When body tissue is injured or inflamed, the body activates fibroblast* cells (seen here in our image of the month) to secrete collagen fibres, forming a structural framework to help heal wounds. So, would the world inside the body actually appear this way under a microscope? Well, of course not. This is where the science-meets-cinema part of Madmicrobe comes in. With  dynamic use of light, colour and cinematic depth - paired with intensive medical research to ensure accuracy - we bring creativity and drama to all our medical imagery.

Incidentally, this pic is our contribution to the Association of Medical Illustrators sourcebook, which lists the world's leading biomedical, life science, and natural science artists.

*A fibroblast is a type of biological cell that synthesises the extracellular matrix and collagen, produces the structural framework (stroma) for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing.