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
Systems medicine Systems medicine Systems medicine is an interdisciplinary field of study that looks at the systems of the human body as part of an integrated whole, incorporating biochemical, physiological, and environment interactions. Systems medicine draws on systems science and systems biology, and considers complex interactions within the human body in light of a patient's genomics, behavior and environment. The earliest uses of the term "systems medicine" appeared in 1992, in an article on systems medicine and pharmacology by B.J. Zeng and in a paper on systems biomedicine by T. Kamada. An important topic in systems medicine and systems biomedicine is the