This book is the first to give a well-documented, illustrated survey of the historical background to disease caused by fungi in man and domesticated animals. Medical and veterinary mycology includes the study of infectious diseases caused by actinomycetes and allergic conditions induced by both fungi and actinomycetes, and their history is also described here. The foundations of medical mycology have been laid over the past centuries but have only been completed during recent decades. This is therefore an appropriate moment to write the history of this specialty, which involves the collaboration of medically qualified and non-medically trained workers. Dr Ainsworth's long and varied career in mycology fits him ideally to the task he has undertaken and he has drawn on his experience to provide an invaluable scholarly perspective on the area.

An account of the established methods used for the laboratory diagnosis of fungal infection and for monitoring antifugal therapy, this book enables non-specialists to undertake basic mycological investigations, to interpret the results and to know when to refer material to specialist mycology labs.

Mycotic diseases are gaining importance because of the increase in opportunistic fungal infections in patients whose immune systems are compromised. The identification of fungi isolated from clinical material has posed a variety of problems to many laboratories because of lack of expertise and experience, especially in the identification of recently emerged rare fungi that had not been previously reported. A Guide to the Study of Basic Medical Mycology offers an overview of the basic characteristics of fungi frequently isolated from clinical specimens. This comprehensive guide, developed by authors Kee Peng Ng, Tuck Soon Soo-Hoo, and Shiang Ling Na from the Department of Medical Microbiology, University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia, details the macro- and microscopic features of each fungus through graphics and illustrations. Including specimens not often found in all teaching modules, A Guide to the Study of Basic Medical Mycology serves to help medical students identify and learn to deal with clinically important fungi and fungal pathogens.

This book is a comprehensive overview of the fungi that are clinically relevant for animals and humans. It is divided in three major parts: the first part comprises the history of veterinary and medical mycology, general aspects of morphology, growth, nutrition, reproduction and classification of fungi. In the second part, the etiologic agents of cutaneous, subcutaneous and systemic mycoses are described in detail with special emphasis on emerging and uncommon pathogenic fungi. Each chapter consists of a brief history and the morphology, classification, reproduction, susceptibility to disinfectants, natural habitat, distribution, genome, isolation, growth and colony characteristics, antigenic characteristics, virulence factors. The major diseases and their routes of transmission, pathogenesis, immunity, diagnosis and treatment are also covered. The third part focuses on laboratory diagnosis including clinical sample collection, their processing for fungal isolation, special stains for microscopic visualization, culture media composition and a relevant glossary. Each chapter includes color photographs, schematic diagrams and tables for better understanding.