Equine fungal endometritis

Fungi are heterotrophic, aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, nonmotile, organisms (Tortora et al. 1998b). Fungal cell walls are composed primarily of chitin, a polysaccharide that is also the main structural component of insects and crustaceans (Tortora et al. 1998a). The term fungal is a general one referring to both yeast and moulds. Fungi are widely distributed in soil, animal excreta, in the vegetative parts of plants, and in substances that contain sugars (Hensyl and Oldham 1982). Yeast are round to oblong single cell organisms, while moulds are long, branched, filamentous structures (Tortora et al. 1998b). Some fungi are dimorphic and exist in both yeast and mold states under certain growth conditions (Tortora et al. 1998b). Fungi have been reported in both forms in the equine reproductive tract (Pugh et al. 1986). In one of the authors’ (JJD) experience, fungi are generally found in a yeast form on cytological examinations (Figs 1–3). Fungal elements that cause reproductive disease are generally opportunistic, requiring some type of predisposing condition to establish infection. An excellent web site for review of fungi is entitled Medical Mycology and is located at the URL http:/ /fungusweb.utmb.edu/mycology/index.html. Information regarding the collection and transport of specimens, culture techniques, as well as, fungal nomenclature and imagery are available for browsing.