242 An Introduction to Medical Mycology 



9. BLOOD 



In searching for H. capsulatum both stained and unstained mounts 

 should be examined. The micro-organism is usually found intracellularly. 



10. STAINED SECTIONS 



Sections of pathologic specimens from lesions in the skin or in other 

 organs may reveal fungi of many different species. If one is trained in 

 observing the appearance of unstained slides, the staining characteristics 

 and the shrinking of the specimen are apt to cause difficulty in recogni- 

 tion of the fungus. Practice will overcome this difficulty, although one may 

 hesitate to make a definite diagnosis from a given slide. Structures such as 

 those observed in blastomycosis or coccidioidomycosis are characteristic 

 even in stained preparations. 





