ABSTRACT
The etiologic agents of aspergillosis and mucormycosis are opportunistic organisms and usually only infect patients predisposed by some underlying disease or treatment. Finally, if germination of the spore or conidium occurs, the host must compete with a rapidly growing organism that is too large to be ingested by a single cell and so must be handled by extracellular defense mechanisms. The term aspergillosis covers a broad spectrum of manifestations in human disease which fall into four main categories: allergic aspergillosis, aspergilloma, invasive aspergillosis, and chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis. Pulmonary aspergillomas or “fungus balls” occur within pulmonary cavities and are composed of tangled hyphae, fibrin, amorphous debris, and few inflammatory cells. Like other types of aspergillosis, invasive aspergillosis is presumably acquired by inhalation of spores into the respiratory tract.
