The superficial mycoses occur mainly in the tropics and include black piedra, white piedra, and tinea versicolor.

The cutaneous mycoses—that is, those of the outer layer of the skin—are generally called ringworms, tineas, or dermatophytoses. These diseases occur worldwide and represent the most common fungal diseases in humans.

The dermatophytes that cause the subcutaneous—below the skin—mycoses are normal saprophytic inhabitants of the soil. They must be introduced into the body beneath the cutaneous layer. Examples of these diseases include chromomycosis, maduromycosis, and sporotrichosis.

The systemic mycoses are the most serious of the fungal infections in the normal host because the responsible fungi can disseminate throughout the body. Examples include blastomycosis, coccidioidomycosis, cryptococcosis, and histoplasmosis.