Date: 10 February 2014
An aspergilloma (or fungal ball) is a mass of fungus found inside the body, for example inside cavities such as the lungs or sinuses, or as abscesses in organs such as the brain or kidney. They are made up of threadlike fungal strands (hyphae) that are densely packed but only around 1/200 of a millimetre in diameter. A mass of hyphae is called a mycelium.
In this image, a slice through an aspergilloma has been imaged using a transmission electron microscope.
Copyright:
With kind permission from Dr Anne Beauvais, Unite des Aspergillus, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75015 Paris
Notes: n/a
Images library
-
Title
Legend
-
Mr RM is 80 and an ex-coal miner.He developed pneumoconiosis from exposure to coal dust. He also developed rheumatoid arthritis and the combination of this disease and pneumoconiosis is called Caplan’s syndrome.
His chest Xray in early 2015 shows extensive bilateral pulmonary shadowing with solid looking nodules superimposed on abnormal lung fields, contraction of his left lung with an elevated diaphragm and a large left upper lobe aspergilloma, displaying a classic air crescent. His CT scan from mid 2014 demonstrates a large aspergilloma in a cavity on the left, with marked pleural thickening around it, which is partially ‘calcified’ towards its base. Inferiorly on other images,remarkable pleural thickening and fibrotic irregular and spiculated nodules are seen, most partially calcified.
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
