Diphtheritic stomatitis Diphtheritic stomatitis Diphtheritic stomatitis is a recently discovered disease and has thus far been reported only in Yellow-eyed penguins ("Megadyptes antipodes"). Its symptoms are similar to human diphtheria and is characterized by infecteous lesions in the mouth area that impede swallowing and cause respiratory troubles. The infection is caused by "Corynebacterium amycolatum", an aerobic Gram-positive bacterium and mainly affects very young chicks. However, it seems likely that a triggering agent (e.g. a virus) might be involved in which renders the corynebacterium a secondary pathogen. The disease has been a serious cause of mortality in the 2002 and 2004 Yellow-eyed penguin
Social construction of the body Social construction of the body The social construction of the body is a hypothesis that affirms that the relationship between the body and the socio-cultural context occurs in both senses, and that society and culture influence the formation of its members to some extent. The body has become a social construction, in whose delimitation have participated multiple disciplines. Thus, medicine and religion can be mentioned as the agents that have traditionally influenced, together with the rules of urbanity and educational institutions. These four agents have been building a model, which every individual has as reference. According to Bryan S. Turner,