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Morphology of pathogenic fungi
- Pathogenic fungi of medical importance occur in two main shapes:
- Yeast
- Unicellular (single-celled)
- Round to oval in shape
- Size: 5 - 25 µm in diameter
- Mould (Mold)
- Multicellular
- Long filaments (tube-like) known as hyphae (singular = hypha)
- Size of hyphal cell: 2 - 5 µm in width and 5 - 50 µm in length
- The total mass of hyphae which make up the mold is called the mycelium.
- Dimorphic fungi are those fungi which grow in either forms (yeast-like and mold-like) under different environmental conditions, for example, temperature.
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