The Fungi— Yeasts 377 



orcranisms. When cultivated on laboratory media, Candida albi- 

 cans produces a mvcelium but it does not form ascospores. 



Another funo;us disease of both man and the lower animals is 

 BLASTOMYCOSIS, or Gilchrist's disease, caused by Blastomyces der- 

 matitidis. This organism affects the skin, the deeper tissues, the 

 lungs, bones, and the spleen. Its filamentous-like nature when 

 cultivated on Sabouraud's medium may lead some persons to 

 believe that the organism is a mold. Its typical yeast-like ap- 

 pearance in affected tissues, however, warrants the organism being 

 classified as a yeast. In the tropics this disease is widespread as 

 a primary skin infection, and lung invasion is not uncommon with 

 death from pneumonia the usual prognosis. 



Torulopsis neoformans is an asporogenous yeast which causes a 

 highly fatal disease of the nervous system, the lungs, or of other 

 internal organs. This organism is also known under the generic 

 name of Cryptococcus. Like many fungi which have several 

 different names, this disease is also known as torula menino;itis, 

 cryptococcosis, American torulosis, and European blastomycosis. 



