Looking in dictionaries it is quickly apparent that the word wall has many meanings that depend on context. ![]() Before going further, it is worthwhile considering the definition of the word “wall”. The concept of a wall to contain cellular contents in a rigid structure dates the 17th century when Robert Hook named the structures delimiting plant cells as walls because they reminded him of the rows of small cells in a monastery. ![]() Here we consider the limitations of the term ‘cell wall’ in microbiology and suggest the wall metaphor could be having a similar detrimental effect by creating a false representation in our minds that limits understanding and skews the direction of experimental work. Similarly, the intracellular pathogen concept probably hindered progress in immunology since the word “intracellular” focused thinking into the duality of microbes being intracellular or extracellular despite a nuanced complexity in microbial lifestyles whereby most had phases in and out of host cells ( Casadevall and Fang, 2020). For example, one of the authors has argued that the word ‘pathogen’ is limiting our understanding of microbial pathogenesis and may even be hindering progress in the field ( Casadevall and Pirofski, 2014). ![]() However, words can also be limiting when used to refer to complex topics in topics. The way we use words shapes our thoughts and actions. Words matter for they are essential to the symbolic communication that is unique to our species.
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