I032 ASCOMYCETES AND BASIDIOMYCETES 



cause any disturbance. The second causes various inflammatory 

 symptoms. 



5. Aspergillosis of Wounds and Ulcers.' — In wounds not 

 properly treated, and in old ulcers, Aspergilli have been occa- 

 sionally found. 



6. Aspergillosis of the Urethra.— In several cases a black 

 urethral discharge has been observed, due to Sterigmatocystis nigra. 



7. Aspergillosis of the Skin. — Montoya's investigation has 

 shown that several varieties of pint a are due to fungi of the genus 

 Aspergillus. Another important tropical skin disease, tinea im- 

 bricata, was believed until recently to be due to an Aspergillus — 

 A. tokelau Wehmer, 1903. In our experience the fungi of tinea 

 imbricata never show aspergillar fructifications, and cannot be 

 considered to be ^s^^rg^'//^". 



Aspergilli may also cause some varieties of mycetoma. 



PYRENOMYCETES. 



Ascomycetous fungi in which the asci are contained in a perithecium pre- 

 senting an orifice at the apex for the escape of the spores. According to some 

 authors, species of this family have been found parasitic in man. This is 

 very doubtful, though Schubert states that he found in the nasal mucus of a 

 patient an organism closely allied to Botvytis bassiana, which latter species, as 

 is well known, causes the disease of silkworms called muscardin. 



CLASS BASIDIOMYCETES. 



Basidiomycetes have a septate mycelium, and are devoid of 

 sexual reproduction. They reproduce by formation of basidia. 

 Other accessory fructifications may be present — as, for example, 

 chlamydospores. The basidia are of two principal tj^pes: (i) auto- 

 basidia; (2) protobasidia. 



The autobasidia are large, unseptated cells, giving rise at their 

 apices to four delicate sterigmata, each of which bears a spore. 



The protobasidia are sept at ed, and appear in two chief forms: — 



A. Septated into four cells, each giving rise to a spore from a 

 lateral inserted sterigma. [#3 



B. Septated by walls intersecting at right angles, each cell ending 

 in an elongated tubular sterigma. 



Of the Basidiomycetes, one species {Ustilago phyodytes) of the 

 family Ustilagineae is of special importance, while two others 

 {U. carho and Tilletia levis) may produce otomycosis. 



Ustilago hypodytes Schlecht. 

 Synonyms. — Dendrodichium microsporus Brigi; Sporotrichiim dermatodes 

 Kane. 



The mycelium penetrates the stem and leaves of reeds {Arundo donax) in 

 some parts of Provence, Italy, and Greece. After a time the mycelium pro- 

 duces innumerable so-called brand spores by a process of segmentation of its 

 profusely branched hyphse. In this way the mycelium is transformed into a 

 brown dark mass of spores. 



These brand spores, as regards the mode of their formation, may be con- 

 sidered chlamydospores. The brand spores are resting spores; they are 



