Ba·sid·i·o·my·ce·tes
(ba-sid'ē-ō-mī-sēt'ez), One of the four major classes of fungi, characterized by a spore-bearing organ (basidium), usually a single clavate cell, which bears basidiospores after karyogamy and meiosis. The class comprises the smuts, rusts, mushrooms, and puffballs. Excluding mycotoxins, there is only one human pathogen, the basidiomycetous stage of Cryptococcus neoformans.
[Mod. L. basidium, dim. of G. basis, base, + mykēs (mykēt), fungus]
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012