Learning objectives:

• List principal fungal pathogens in the respiratory tract
• Evaluate the morphological appearance and identification of hyaline septate molds in clinical specimens
• Recognize the morphological appearance of Histoplasma capsulatum in clinical specimens
• Identify yeasts that are inhibited by cycloheximide in culture
• Evaluate the importance of species identification for dermatophytes
• Explain the purpose of pretreatment of filamentous fungi before transfer to a MALDI-TOF-MS plate
• Identify common technical challenges that are particular to fungal DNA detection in clinical specimens
• Recall the sensitivity of blood cultures for the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis
• Recall the sensitivity of serum cryptococcal antigen detection for the diagnosis of cryptococcal meningoencephalitis
• Evaluate methods for the diagnosis of sporotrichosis