Coccidioides immitis undergoes a completely different type of growth in vivo from that in vitro. The parasitic form, or spherule, appears in animal tissue as a non-budding, spherical structure 20 to 80 ,u in diameter with a thick, refractile, double wall, and is filled witlh numerous small endospores 2 to 5 ,u in diameter. The saprophytic form appears in laboratory media as mycelium with branching, septate hvphae which fracture into numerous thick-walled, rectangular, spherical, or ellipsoidal arthrospores 2 to 4 ,u in diameter.
of Coccidioides immitis in monkeys. J. Bacteriol. 83:871-878. 1962.-Respiratory exposure to arthrospores from the submerged growth of Coccidioides immitis, strain Cash, in liquid medium resulted in similar pathogenesis in monkeys to that of strain Silveira arthrospores harvested from solid medium. Infectivity of 100% was noted with doses of 50 to 10,000 arthrospores. The disease was characterized by loss of appetite and weight, malaise, and extreme respiratory distress accompanied by coughing, with the immediate cause of death being acute coccidioidal pneumonia. The pathological picture was one of
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