1980 Volume 18 Issue 3 Pages 197-201
A case of primary pulmonary zygomycosis is reported. This 52-year-old man was asymptomatic, and a mass in his right hilum was first detected by annual chest roentgen survey. The mass measured 4.5×4.5cm on the standard P-A film, and was accompanied with notches and radiating spicules. Lateral tomogram and bronchogram suggested a subsegmental obstruction of the right B3, but fiberoptic bronchoscopy revealed irregular narrowing of the bronchus without any tumor.
Thoracotomy was performed under a diagnosis of cancer of the lung, and revealed a whitish hard nodule in the right upper lobe. Histologically, the nodule was a conglomerate of granulomas, each of which was made up of the epithelioid and foreign body giant cells, surrounding fungi concentrically. The fungi were identified with zygomycetes (so-called mucor) by morphologic features and immunofluorescence microscopic examination.
The unusual point of this case is the primary mucor infection presenting as a tumor-like shadow in chest X-ray film.
