Pneumocystis

**Semantic type:** Fungus

**Definition:** A genus of yeast-like fungi in the family Pneumocystidaceae. Members of the genus are found in the lungs of terrestrial mammals from almost all geographic regions. Communication between hosts likely happens by an airborne route to uninfected individuals. Latent infections can develop into pneumonia in immunologically impaired individuals.

**Synonyms:** - PNEUMOCYSTIS