Answer to Question #42389 in Microbiology for Aliciana

Of more than 50 000 fungal species, only about 300 are known tobe human pathogens. Most fungal infections occur as a result of weakened host immune defenses. The spores of ubiquitous fungi continuously enter the respiratory tract with inspirated air. Starting from foci in the lungs, the organisms can then be transported,hematogenously or lymphogenously, to other organs including the skin. Fungi that cause classic subcutaneous mycoses penetrate through skin injuries into the subcutaneous connective tissue, where they cause local, chronic, granulomatous infections. Some fungi are actually the component
of the skin’s normal flora. They only cause infections in patients with immune deficiencies.