the.com/dermatophyte
A fungus that eats keratin and leaves you the itchy receipt.
means A fungus that infects skin, hair, or nails by feeding on keratin, causing conditions like ringworm and athlete's foot.
from Built from Greek parts: 'derma' meaning skin (the same root in dermatology and dermis), and 'phyton' meaning plant — because early scientists classified fungi as a kind of plant. So the word literally spells out 'skin plant,' a label coined in the 19th century as microbiologists worked out which organisms were causing these stubborn, itchy infections.
- diet
- feeds on dead skin, hair, nails
- famous work
- causes ringworm and athlete's foot
- ring myth
- no worm involved, just a circular rash
- spread method
- thrives on warm, damp surfaces like locker rooms