Classification of subcutaneous and systemic mycoses.

The classification of human fungal infections in medical reports is sometimes confusing. This occurs because some agents act as opportunistic organisms in immunosuppressed patients, whereas others affect the subcutaneous tissue and also cause disseminated or systemic disease. Finally, some clinically similar infections caused by aerobic actinomycetic bacteria and others caused by parasites (rhinosporidiosis) have been traditionally included in the descriptions of mycotic diseases. This contribution provides the clinician with a classification of subcutaneous, systemic, and opportunistic fungal infections.