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histoplasmosis

histoplasmosis

1 9.5
A disease from a fungus that usually affects the lungs and can spread to other organs
  • noun
  • /ˌhɪstəplæzˈmoʊsɪs/
  • Specialized
: histoplasmosis
  • Three patients were being treated for fungal infection premortem: 2 Cryptococcus meningitis and 1 disseminated histoplasmosis.

Examples

  • If left untreated, histoplasmosis can lead to serious complications, especially in individuals with weakened immune systems.

  • Two of the patients in our group who had histoplasmosis were Hispanic.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Use mucocutaneous candidiasis, histoplasmosis, and dermatophytes (not effective against Aspergillus species).

    Academic text (2005)
  • Histoplasmosis occurs in less than 1% of patients from areas of non-endemicity, where reactivation of latent infection is more likely than exogenous infection.

    Academic text (2007)
  • After several tests, the doctor confirmed that she was suffering from histoplasmosis, which explained her persistent cough.

  • The report highlighted an increase in cases of histoplasmosis, particularly in regions with significant bird droppings.

Synonyms

fungal infection
vshistoplasmosis
  • Specialized
6 3.1

An illness a fungus causes in the body, often on the skin or nails

is a single named disease that usually starts in the lungs
mycosis
vshistoplasmosis
  • Specialized
1 9.5

A disease in a person or animal caused by a fungus

is a specific disease caused by one fungus usually affecting the lungs

Surface Forms

histoplasmosis singular

Morphology

histoplasmosis = histoplasma (opaque) = histo + plasm + osis

The disease name is built from the fungal genus name plus the medical suffix '-osis', but this technical relation is not transparent to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Histoplasmosis comes from the fungus name Histoplasma, which is made of histo- meaning 'tissue' and -plasma meaning 'form', plus the ending -osis meaning 'disease'. So histoplasmosis literally names a disease where that fungus grows in body tissues, often in the lungs.