Introduction
The term subcutaneous mycosis means a disease in which the pathogen, an exosaprophyte, penetrates the dermis or even deeper during or after a skin trauma. The lesions gradually spread locally without dissemination to deep organs. However, most fungi which cause subcutaneous mycoses can also occasion deep mycoses in patients with severe underlying abnormalities (via the respiratory tract). Mycologically the pathogens of subcutaneous mycoses have only a few common characteristics and belong to very different taxonomic groups.
Subcutaneous mycoses occur exclusively or predominantly in the tropics. This is related on the one hand to the geographical distribution of the pathogens and the ecological factors that determine their saprophytic growth and sporulation and on the other hand it is also the consequence of the medical underdevelopment in these regions. Imported or indigenous cases are only rarely found in Western Europe.
