Histoplasma capsulatum

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

noun
/ˌhɪstəˈplæzmə ˌkæp.səˈleɪ.təm/

Specialized

: histoplasma capsulatum

Doctors identified Histoplasma capsulatum as the cause of the patient's respiratory symptoms.

Examples

Farmers working in old barns may be exposed to Histoplasma capsulatum from bat droppings.
The laboratory confirmed the presence of Histoplasma capsulatum in the soil sample.
The Histoplasma capsulatum fungus is commonly found in soil.
Bird droppings can harbor Histoplasma capsulatum spores.
Doctors identified Histoplasma capsulatum as the cause of the patient's respiratory symptoms.
Farmers working in old barns may be exposed to Histoplasma capsulatum from bat droppings.
The laboratory confirmed the presence of Histoplasma capsulatum in the soil sample.

Surface Forms

Histoplasma capsulatum singular

Histoplasma capsulata singular

Morphology

Histoplasma + capsulatum

The string is a Latin binomial (genus + species) so, for someone who knows 'Histoplasma' as a genus of pathogenic fungi and understands scientific naming, it transparently denotes a particular species of that fungus that can cause lung infections. However, the vocabulary is highly specialized (the species epithet 'capsulatum' is not an everyday word and B1 learners typically lack familiarity with taxonomic conventions), so the meaning is only partially accessible rather than fully predictable.

Etymology

Histoplasma capsulatum comes from old scientific words that mean 'tissue' and 'small capsule': Histoplasma points to 'tissue' and capsulatum to a 'small capsule'. Scientists gave this name because the fungus is found in body 'tissue' and its tiny cells look like little capsules under a microscope, so the name helps remember that it can live in tissues and cause infections.