Fungous

Fungous, mushroom-like, a term used in cases when the external appearance of pathological tissues resembles the form of a mushroom. This term by itself says nothing about the nature of the process. Tissue mushroom-like growths can accompany fundamentally different pathological processes, such as: tumors, regeneration, hyperplasia, etc. The term fungous is most often used to characterize the external appearance of a tumor. One speaks of fungous cancer, fungous polyp, fungous fibroendothelioma of the dura mater, etc. Usually these are tumors with pronounced exophytic growth, which clinically is a favorable factor. An example of F. growths of inflammatory and hyperplastic nature can serve as fungous tuberculous arthritis with growths of the joint capsule. Whatever the nature of fungous growths, they have a tendency to become inflamed and ulcerate on the surface, often bleeding profusely.