

THE PATHOGENIC FUNGI AND YEASTS 437 



Women are more frequently attacked than men, while children and 

 old people are rarely affected. 



The source of infection is unknown, since the absence of contagion 

 has frequently been demonstrated. It seems likely that the spores of 

 this fungus are so widely distributed that susceptible individuals are 

 easily infected. 



The arrangement of the fungus in the scales of epidermis is char- 

 acteristic. The short and thick-curved hyphse (7/> to 13/> long and 3/* 

 to 4/* wide) surround large clumps of spores. The spores are coarse, 

 doubly contorted (4// to 7/*) or round. On staining with Ziehl's solution 

 the spores are seen to contain deeply stained globules lying, in all prob- 

 ability, on the inner surface of the cell membrane. The rest of the 

 protoplasm is but little stained, or not at all. One frequently finds 

 that these globules have disintegrated into numerous fine granules. 

 The globules are also found free; what their nature is does not appear; 

 they are not found in cultures, the freshly developed spores showing 

 only a single globular mass of protoplasm possessing a fine blue lustre. 



Soor Fungus (Thrush). 



Soor, as is well known, occurs most frequently in the oral mucous 

 membrane of infants during the early weeks of life. It is also found 

 as a slight mycosis in the vagina, especially of pregnant women. In 

 rare cases the disease attacks adults, and then especially those whose 

 system has beeji undermined by other diseases, such as diabetes, 

 typhoid patients, etc. A few cases are recorded in the literature in 

 which this fungus has given rise to constitutional disease. In these 

 cases autopsy has shown abscesses in various parts of the body, such 

 as in the lungs, spleen, kidney, and brain. 



In the lesions of the disease as well as in cultures, this fungus appears 

 both as an yeast and a mycelium. The yeast cells are oval in form, 

 about 5,u to 6,u long and 4/* wide, and can in no way be distinguished 

 from other yeast cells either by their appearance or their method of 

 propagation. The threads of the mycelium vary very much in length 

 and thickness, and show all intermediate forms between a typical and 

 a budding mycelium. 



Soor is not much influenced by acids or alkalies, growing well both 

 in acid and in alkaline media. On the other hand, it is very susceptible 

 to the common disinfectants, especially salicylic acid, corrosive sub- 

 limate, phenol, etc. This fact is made use of in local treatment. 



Blastomycetes Yeasts; . 



These micro-organisms are of the greatest importance in brewing 

 and baking, but as yet no important pathological lesions in man have 

 been attributed to them, although certain recent experiments have 

 shown that some varieties when injected are capable of producing 

 tumors and many are pathogenic for mice. They are not uncommonly 



