Vaginal smear of an uncontrolled diabetic patient who presented with severe itching in vulval area shows budding yeast cells. What is the causative organism?
In culture or tissue, Candida species grow as oval, budding yeast cells (3-6 m in size). They also form pseudohyphae when the buds continue to grow but fail to detach, producing chains of elongated cells that are pinched or constricted at the septations between cells. Unlike other species of Candida, C albicans is dimorphic; in addition to yeasts and pseudohyphae, it can also produce true hyphae. Ref: Brooks G.F., Carroll K.C., Butel J.S., Morse S.A., Mietzneron T.A. (2010). Chapter 45. Medical Mycology. In G.F. Brooks, K.C. Carroll, J.S. Butel, S.A. Morse, T.A. Mietzneron (Eds), Jawetz, Melnick, & Adelberg's Medical Microbiology, 25e.
Candida
Gonococcus
Aspergillus
Tinea