Diagnosis: Mucormycosis
• Zygomycetes are a fungal class that are mostly nonspetate. Most fungi in this class that cause infection belong to the order Mucorales, which includes Rhizopus, Mucor, Rhizomucor, and Absidia.
• The hyphae of the Mucorales fungi are nonseptate and branching is nondichotomous, irregular, and sometimes at right angles.
• Mucormycosis can invade the lung, nasal, sinus, brain, and mucous membranes.
• Fungi causing mucormycosis can be differentiated from aspergillosis by the morphology of the hyphae and by the presence of chlamydospores in the hyphae.
• Differential characteristics of commonly encountered pathogens causing mucormycosis include rhizoid production and sporangiophore pigment (see table).
