Microbiology: A Systems Approach 4th Edition by Marjorie Kelly Cowan

Exercise 45

Critical thinking is the ability to reason and solve problems using facts and concepts. These questions can be approached from a number of angles and, in most cases, they do not have a single correct answer.
A 17-year-old male goes to his physician with an uncomfortable condition: a painful bump on the sole of his foot. As the physician examines the lesion, the young man states that he is an active member of the school swim team.
a. What type of skin condition do you feel the patient is suffering from, based upon this information
b. What causative agent is most likely involved, and how might the patient have acquired the pathogen
c. After receiving his diagnosis, the young man is very disturbed. He says that it is impossible because he has never been sexually active. Form an explanation that would clarify this misconception for the patient.