RINGWORM FUNGUS GROWING AS A SAPROPHYTE UNDER NATURAL CONDITIONS

Abstract

a paper entitled In Situ Cultures of Dermatophytes, Davidson and Gregory1stated that the cast-off hairs and epidermal scales of animals may be the medium for the spread of animal ringworm. They showed that when infected hairs are placed in a moist atmosphere the growth of the invading fungus continues with the production of a small saprophytic colony and the two usual types of accessory spores, aleuriospores and fuseaux, are borne in the manner normally observed in cultures made on artificial mediums. These authors considered that although it is possible that the saprophytic stage of ringworm fungi may one day be observed under natural conditions on substances other than keratinized animal tissue, it may well be that such tissue is the most important natural medium on which ringworm fungi exist as saprophytes and produce spores capable of infecting human and animal hosts. The probability that these fungi spend