Fig. 3

a Coagulated necrotic soft tissue was assessed via microscopy, revealing the presence of lymphocytes, plasma cells, and multinucleated giant cells in the necrotic tissue (A1 H&E stain × 50; A2 H&E stain × 100). b Many hyphae were detected in necrotic soft tissue samples, surrounding and invading the walls of blood vessels, thereby resulting in vasculitis and thrombus formation (B1 H&E stain × 200; B2 H&E stain × 400). c Mucorales were characterized by small round brown spores and basophilic chrysanthemum-like sporangium exhibiting sporangiospores and sporangiophores (C1 H&E stain × 100; C2 H&E stain × 400). d-g Periodic-acid-Schiff (PAS) staining revealed fungal hyphae that were pink (D1 PAS stain × 200; D2 PAS stain × 400), spores that were yellow-brown (E1 PAS stain × 200; E2 PAS stain × 400). Grocott staining highlighted hyphae (F1 Grocott stain × 100; F2 Grocott stain × 400), sporangia, and spores that were noticeably dark brown (G1 Grocott stain × 100; G2 Grocott stain × 400). H&E: Hematoxylin and eosin