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MOULD-FUNGI. 349

drinking. If the fungus has already colonized, it must be
combated by applying alkalies, as it, in common with other
bud-fungi, does not flourish on alkaline media (repeated wiping
out of the mouth with a cloth dipped into a 5 to 10 per cent, solu-
tion of bicarbonate of soda). In more serious cases hourly
painting with nitrate of silver (0.1 : 20 to 50) are prescribed.
Internally chlorate of potassium (1 : 100.0, every two hours a
teaspoonful), and where the oesophagus threatens to become
obstructed, emetics. One should guard against the inexcusable
mistake of confounding thrush ^^dth leucoplakia oris.

MOULD-FUNGI.
Mould- or thread-fungi (Hyphomycetes, moulds) differ morpho-
logically from bacteria and bud-fungi by the formation of long,
branching threads (hyphpe), which, where the growth is not
impeded, generally radiate from a center (the spore) and in-
crease by peripheral growth. The hypha? are usually divided
into joints by transverse walls or partitions.
The entire development proceeding from a spore, exclusive of
the fruit hyphse, is called a mycelium. Sometimes it is compara-
tively simple, but slightly ramified, sometimes again innumerable
ramifications appear, so that the mycelium forms a densely-
meshed flocculent mass. Finally, when the hyphse are very
closely woven, firm, fibrous chords or bulbous, fleshy bodies of
various shapes (sclerotia) are formed.
Mould-fungi reproduce chiefly by spores. Individual threads
springing up from the mycelium (Fig. 127) display certain
differences in form and growth in contradistinction to the
others. These are the so-called fruit-hyphse above mentioned,
on which spores are produced in various ways. At this stage,
the growth taken as a Avhole, mycelium and fruit-hyplise, is
called a thcdlus:
Mould-fungi are very common in nature. They grow on
almost all kinds of organic media, and are able to send the
extremities of their threads into the hardest vegetable and
animal tissues, and even to perforate bones and teeth. They
do not by any means excite those intense processes of decompo-
sition in animal substances characteristic of bacteria. They