A Guide to the Study of Basic Medical Mycology

Mycotic diseases are gaining importance because of the increase in opportunistic fungal infections in patients whose immune systems are compromised. The identification of fungi isolated from clinical material has posed a variety of problems to many laboratories because of lack of expertise and experience, especially in the identification of recently emerged rare fungi that had not been previously reported. A Guide to the Study of Basic Medical Mycology offers an overview of the basic characteristics of fungi frequently isolated from clinical specimens. This comprehensive guide, developed by authors Kee Peng Ng, Tuck Soon Soo-Hoo, and Shiang Ling Na from the Department of Medical Microbiology, University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia, details the macro- and microscopic features of each fungus through graphics and illustrations. Including specimens not often found in all teaching modules, A Guide to the Study of Basic Medical Mycology serves to help medical students identify and learn to deal with clinically important fungi and fungal pathogens.

Kee Peng Ng BSc, PhD, MBBS, DTM&H, is a professor and senior clinical consultant with the Department of Medical Microbiology, University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. He has a special interest in diagnostic mycology and is currently conducting whole genome characterizations and pathogenomic studies on important members of the dematiaceous fungal species. Tuck Soon Soo Hoo, PhD, is a mycologist who retired after 40 years as a lecturer in the Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. He has extensive experience in the study of fungi of clinical importance, specializing in morphological identification and histopathological diagnosis of fungal diseases. Shiang Ling Na is a medical laboratory technologist in the Mycology laboratory, Department of Medical Microbiology, University Malaya Medical Centre.