Biofilms are often key players in human, animal, and plant infections, fouling of industrial equipment, contamination of water systems, as well as in waste remediation, not even to mention their central roles in all geochemical cycles. Viewed as materials, biofilms are quite interesting: they are living, growing viscoelastic fluids with surprising ability to respond to and defend against environmental challenges. However, they are also complex systems in which biological, chemical, and physical factors are, in general, strongly coupled. For all of these reasons, biofilms are attractive modeling targets. Thus this talk will present a quick survey of efforts to characterize and model biofilms on a continuum macroscale, emphasizing issues especially relevant to medical contexts.