A battery of 8 peroxidase-labeled lectins was tested on sections of paraffin-embedded human tissues to determine which lectin could be used in the microscopic diagnosis of fungi. The lectin hitochemistry was more clearly in identifying Candida, Aspergillus, Mucor, and Cryptococcus than fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled lectins because these fungi were fluorescent in sections of paraffin-embedded tissue under ultraviolet illumination. Five lectins, from Ricinus communis (RCA-120), Lens culinaris (LCA), Ulex europaeus (UEA-1), Canavalin eniformis (ConA), and Triticum vulgare (WGA), were found to react with fungal pathogens commonly encountered in nosocominal infections. Three lectins, from Arachis hypoaea (PNA), Phaseolus vulgaris (PHA-E), and Dolichos biflorus (DAB) were stained weakly or not at all with fungi
