084 THE HIGHER BACTERIA, MOLDS AND FUNGT 



strains of blastomycetes grow as a mass of round cells developing 

 by means of blastospores, which indicates a close relationship to 

 the true yeasts, and although ascospore formation has never been 

 observed Brumpt and others group them among the ascomycetes. 

 , Other strains producing the same type of disease are considered by 

 all to be hyphomycetes. . 



As the botanical classification of these organisms is still the 

 subject of controversy it has seemed clearer for the purposes of 

 this chapter to arrange them according to the diseases which they 

 produce. For discussion of their botanical relationships as well 

 as for an account the numerous species which have been described, 

 one is referred to the works of Brumpt, 4 Castellanni, 5 and Plant. 8 

 Only the more important types can be mentioned here. 



BLASTOMYCOSIS 



Busse 7 in 1894 reported a case of fatal, generalized yeast infec- 

 tion beginning in an abscess of the tibia. Pus from the lesions 

 contained numerous giant cells in which he observed round or oval, 

 double-contoured bodies surrounded by a wide capsule. They varied 

 in size from that of a red corpuscle to that of a liver cell. Many 

 showed small cells projecting as buds from the larger parasites. 

 The parasite grew readily on ordinary media in budding forms, 

 often surrounded by a capsule as in the tissues. It was pathogenic 

 for laboratory animals especially for white mice. In glucose solu- 

 tions it produced carbon dioxide and alcohol. In 1896 Gilchrist 8 

 described a similar organism isolated from a patient with a severe 

 chronic cutaneous disease which he described as pseudo lupus vul- 

 garis. This organism also was found in giant cells, was capsulated, 

 and showed budding forms. In culture, however, it produced 

 mycelia and conidia and did not ferment glucose. Oxalic acid 

 crystals were seen in the cultures. In the same year Curtis 9 in 



4 Brumpt, Precis de Parisitologie, Masson et Cie, Paris. 



6 Chalmers and Castellani, Handbook of Tropical Medicine. 



6 Plant, H. C., Handb. d. Path. Microorg., Kolle u. Wassermann, vol. V. 



'Busse, Centralbl. f. Bakteriol., I, 1894, xvi, 175. 



8 Gilchrist, Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp., 1896, vii. 



Curtis, Ann. de 1'Inst. Pasteur, 1896, x. 



