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Glenn S. Bulmer, Ph.D.

Prof. Medical Mycology
 ³The best way to win a war
is to know the enemy´ *

rhis applies to humans as well as

fungus diseases (mycoses).

* Sun r u, ³rhe Art of War´

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Sabourauds + antibiotics Sabourauds agar

Both plates air exposed for 5 minutes and

incubated for 1 week
rhus, one way we identify fungi is by the
gross appearance of the colony, i.e., the
color, shape, texture, growth habit, etc.
rhe second method used to identify
fungi is by examining the
microscopic characteristics of the
organism.
ßere are few examples of how fungi
appear microscopically. Note the hyphae
and spores.
2

, occasional onychomycosis

 
 , a dematiaceous fungus
V

, a contaminant
4  , rare pathogen




 phycomycosis, mucormycosis
2 
, contaminant
4
rare pathogen
i  , one species is a pathogen
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 , a yeast
surrounded by polysaccharide capsule.
2

 , a yeast used to make beer.
A yeast making buds at the end of long slender tubes.
An intracellular yeast as seen in histoplasmosis and penicilliosis
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rhis is a picture of many cells in hyphae.
rhese cells have a thick cell wall with much
chitin. rhe cell membrane is composed of
ergosterol which is similar to cholesterol found
in our cell membrane. rhese facts are
important in the treatment of patients with
fungus diseases.
V 


(rhese are the small airborne particles by which
fungi reproduce. rhey are produced by mitosis and
readily disseminate in the air.
( emember the picture of the air(exposed media?
 Sabourauds + antibiotics Sabourauds agar

All of the fungal colonies seen here

came from spores in the air.
What does this tell you about the ability of fungal
spores to enter the human lung?
 rhe sketch of the lung shows that
fungal spores must be less than 5(
microns in
diameter to enter the human lung.
Since many fungal spores are less than

microns in diameter the lung is an important
way that fungi enter the body.
 rhus many of the systemic mycoses
are contracted from hyphae and/or spores
which live in the soil and air.
In fact only one serious systemic
mycoses is endogenous in origin
(candidiasis).
  
A better understanding of some of the basic
aspects of pathogenic fungi is necessary for us to
better diagnose and manage patients with systemic
mycoses.
Internet searches are an important way to
keep up(to(date on such matters. I recommend the
following search engine:
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