4 An Introduction to Medical Mycology 



country. The names of Weidman, Hopkins, Benham, Jacobson, Dodge, 

 Moore, Mitchell, Henrici, Emmons, Williams, Davis, Martin, Shaw and 

 Conant come to mind, but these investigators are only a few of the clini- 

 cians, teachers and research workers in the United States who are actively 

 engaged in furthering knowledge of this specialized field. It is of interest to 

 note that nearly all the American medical mycologists are, coincidentally, 

 either dermatologists or actively associated with dermatologic departments. 

 That this is no chance association is attested to by the fact that, almost 

 invariably, skin manifestations of the mycoses appear at some stage of their 

 invasion of the body. Dermatologists are thus better versed in mycologic 

 diseases than any other group of physicians. 



Delineation of disease syndromes, evaluation of new species of patho- 

 genic fungi, inquiry into improved methods of diagnosis, research into 

 abstract biologic and biochemical problems and attempts to improve 

 therapy have constituted some of the lines of endeavor. During World 

 War II, interest in fungous diseases increased as members of the armed 

 forces were stationed in all parts of the world. So far as the common fun- 

 gous diseases encountered were concerned, no variation from the findings 

 in civilian life was noted. However, on the basis of possibility of spread, 

 some uncommon diseases of limited distribution, such as Paracoccidioides, 

 mycetoma and tinea imbricata, received considerable attention. To date 

 no reports have shown any spread of these or of other unusual fungous dis- 

 eases in this country. It is apparent that in medical mycology much im- 

 portant work remains to be done. 



