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Glite Dictionary
Histoplasma

Histoplasma

1 9.9
A type of fungus that can cause lung infection in people and animals
  • proper noun
  • /ˌhɪstəˈplæzmə/
  • Specialized
: histoplasma
  • The doctor explained that Histoplasma is a fungus that can cause severe lung infections in vulnerable individuals.

Examples

  • Fungal pneumonia was present in 29 (41%) patients: Candida (14), Aspergillus (8), Histoplasma (4), and Cryptococcus (3).

    Academic text (2007)

  • After reviewing his symptoms, doctors diagnosed the patient with an infection caused by Histoplasma.

  • OK, so tested for histoplasma, that's one of the soil Fung negative, Mycoplasma, a whole bunch of different things.

  • In regions where the Histoplasma fungus is common, people should be cautious about exposure to bird droppings.

Compounds

Histoplasma capsulatum
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A fungus that lives in soil with bird or bat droppings and can cause lung infection in people and animals

Surface Forms

Histoplasma main

Morphology

Histoplasma = plasma (opaque) = histo + plasma

Although analyzable as 'histo-' + 'plasma', this is a Neo-Latin taxonomic genus name referring to a fungus and its specialized meaning is not inferable by average learners from the parts.

Etymology

Histoplasma comes from the Greek parts histo- meaning 'tissue' and plasma meaning 'formed'. So it is a 'form' that grows in body tissues, which explains why Histoplasma is the name of a fungus that can infect the lungs.