Medically Important Fungi: A Guide to Identification

Like its predecessors, the completely revised and updated fourth edition of Medically Important Fungi helps laboratory workers readily identify fungi by following a step-by-step procedure that incorporates consideration of macroscopic, microscopic, and other identifiable features. New organisms, new tables, color plates, and an expanded glossary have been added to this classic text to create the preeminent bench-side guide and teaching aid for the identification of clinically encountered fungi.

In this edition the section of direct microscopic examination of specimens has been greatly expanded to more completely instruct and assist in the reading and interpretation of tissue sections and direct smears. Histological terminology, tissue reactions to fungal infections, and stains employed are covered in a relatively elementary manner designed for a microbiologist or student of pathology. A guide based on drawings and brief descriptions of the fungi leads the user to detailed descriptions of each mycosis, including delineation of the etiologic agent(s), typical sites of infection, usual tissue reactions, and the microscopic morphology of the organism as seen on direct examination of specimens. Line drawings and photomicrographs are also provided for each mycosis.

Part II has been expanded to include seven new organisms, and ten new tables have been added to display more clearly the differential characteristics of organisms that are similar to one another. In addition, a section of 161 color plates has been added to illustrate the colony morphology of selected fungi and to demonstrate microscopic images and test reactions.