Surface oral lesions
Oral lesions
Appearance
Associated conditions
Location
Microscopic
Image
White Lesions
Leukoedema
White or whitish grey edematous lesion
Diffuse or patchy
Variant of normal oral mucosa
Buccal and labial oral mucosa
Intracellular edema or vacuolization of Malpighian cells.
Fordyce granules
White or yellow discrete papules
Symmetrically distributed
Variant of normal oral mucosa
Buccal mucosa
Vermillion border of the lips
Similar to normal sebaceous glands of skin
Lacks hair follicles and almost always lack ductal communication with surface.
Benign migratoy glossitis
Red patches with white distinct border
Map like appearance
Psoriasis
Diabetes
Reiter's syndrome
Medications such as Oral contraceptive pills and lithium carbonate
Dorsal/Lateral surface of the tongue
Acanthosis with neutrophils throughout epithelium and surface
Microabscesses, plus inflammatory infiltrate in lamina propria
Resembles psoriasis
Hairy tongue
Elongated filliform lingual papillae
Carpet like appearance
Xerostomia
Medications such as anti-psychotics
HIV
Amyotropic lateral sclerosis
Marked elongation and hyperparakeratosis of the filiform papillae
Hairy leukoplakia
White patches
Corrugated in appearance
Hairy, hair-like growths
Permanent
Buccal mucosa
Lateral surface of the tongue
Floor of the mouth
Palate
Hyperkeratotic oral mucosa due to piling of keratotic squamous epithelium
Cowdry type A intranuclear inclusions
Balloon cells with margination of chromatin
White sponge nevus
White patches of tissue (nevi )
Singular or multiple
Thickened, velvety, sponge -like appearance
Parakeratosis, acanthosis
Extensive vacuolation
Dyskeratotic cells exhibit dense peri and paranuclear eosinophilic condensations
Abundant Odland bodies
Lichen Planus
Reticular or papular lace like white lesions
Multiple, Painful
Autoimmune disorders disorders
Posterior buccal mucosa
Gingival margin
Hyperkeratosis and acanthosis
Granular cell layer, sawtoothing of rete pegs, bandlike chronic inflammatory infiltrate
Civatte bodies
Artifactual cleft formation
No atypia
Frictional hyperkeratosis
White shaggy plaques
Could be easily peeled without any pain leaving normal mucosa
Bite trauma
Grinding of the teeth
Buccal mucosa
Limited to line of dental occlusion
Hyperkeratinization and acanthosis
Smooth, corrugated, or ragged, epthelial surfac with multiple keratin projections
Leukoplakia
White or grayish in patches that can't be wiped away
Irregular or flat-textured
Thickened or hardened in areas
Along with raised, red lesions (speckled leukoplakia or erythroplakia), which are more likely to show precancerous changes
Soft palate
Floor of mouth
Ventral surface of tongue and the retromolar area
Varies histologically from acanthosis, hyperkeratosis, dysplasia or carcinoma in situ
Carcinoma in situ is associated with lymphocytes and macrophages
Erythroplakia
Fiery red patch
Smooth, velvety, granular or nodular lesions
Highest risk of malignant transformation
Soft palate
Floor of mouth
Ventral surface of tongue and the retromolar area
Thin atrophic epithelium with prominent subepithelial vascularity and inflammation.
Almost all erythroplakic lesions contain dysplastic cells
Oral lesions
Appearance
Associated conditions
Location
Microscopic
Image
Pigmented lesions
Flat red or light brown spots
3–10 mm in diameter
Poorly defined and may merge into large patches
Predominant in outer lips
Mild hyperpigmentation of basal keratinocytes, normal architecture
Focal pigmented brown lesions similar to ephelides
Flat and mostly smaller than 1 cm
Characterised by a focal increase in melanin production
Gingiva, with the buccal mucosa and palate
No atypia.
Melanin pigmentation tends to be present in significant amounts in the basal-cell layer.
Proliferation of benign dendritic melanocytes scattered throughout the epithelium, acanthosis and spongiosis
Increased melanin pigmentation is noted in the basal cell layer of the epithelium.
Melanin incontinence may also be noted in the underlying lamina propria
Varies from dark brown to blue-black
Mucosa-colored and white lesions are occasionally noted
Erythema is observed when the lesions are inflamed.
80% cases involve palate and maxillary gingiva
Buccal mucosa, mandibular gingiva, and tongue lesions
Acral lentiginous
Malignant cells often nest or cluster in groups in an organoid fashion
Hard palate is most frequently affected, followed by the gums
Hyperparakeratinized areas showing acanthosis, spongiosis, exocytosis, vacuolar degeneration,
Substantial deposition of melanin in all epithelial layers
Melanocytic hyperplasia
Dendritic melanocytes in all epithelial layers.
Perioral
Freckling of the skin around lips and vermillion zone of the lips.
Intraorally
Proliferation of all elements of peripheral nerves
Schwann cells with wire like collagen fibrils,fibroblasts and collagen
Perineurial cells in plexiform types, mitotic figures are rare
Polyostotic fibrous dysplasia
Orofacial deformity
Dental disorders
Bone pains
Compromised oral health
Predominantly involves musculo-skeletal defects of oral cavity
Gingiva
Curvilinear trabeculae of metaplastic woven bone in hypocellular, fibroblastic stroma
Pigmented fragments of metal within connective tissue
A scattered arrangement of black or dark brown granules
Large particles may be surrounded by chronically inflamed fibrous tissue
Oral lesions
Appearance
Associated conditions
Location
Microscopic
Image
Vesicular/
Ulcerative
Infections
Herpes simplex virus infections
Herpetic gingivostomatitis
Painful ulcers covered by a yellowish pseudomembrane
Ulcers that may coalesce to form bigger lesions
Self limiting after 7 days
Keratinized and non-keratinized mucosa .
Intra and intercellular edema (acantholysis)
Intranuclear inclusions
Multinucleate polykaryons (giant cells)
Herpes zoster
Clustered small ulcers with characteristic unilateral pattern
Keratinocytes are multinucleated, acantholytic with distinct nuclear inclusions, found initially in follicular epithelium
Late epidermal necrosis or full-thickness acantholysis
Dermal nerve twigs may exhibit a perineural infiltrate of lymphocytes and neutrophils, sometimes associated with intraneural involvement
Schwann cell hypertrophy and frank neural necrosis are occasionally encountered
Hand foot mouth disease
Irregularly shaped shallow ulcers with yellow-grey base and hyperemic margin.
Vesicular lesions will demonstrate loose strands of fibrin, lymphocytes and neutrophils in the vesicular fluid.
The presence of acantholysis in the epidermis and perivascular infiltration of leukocytes is seen in hand foot and mouth disease.
The absence of intracelluar inclusion bodies differentiates it from the herpes simplex infection.
Infectious mononucliosis
Epstein-Barr virus infection
Kissing's Disease
Reactive lymphoid hyperplasia
Extensive immunoblastic proliferation in sheets and nodules, marked atypia resembling Reed-Sternberg cells
Erosive lichen planus
Pseudomembranous candidiasis
Known as thrush .
Usually asymptomatic .
Confluent white wipeable plaques resembling curdled milk
Superficially the plaques can be wiped off and the underlying mucosa often exhibits an erythematous appearance.
Chronic medications
Immuno-suppressive conditions
Wet mount examination with 10% KOH or saline demonstrates hyphae , pseudohyphae, and blastospores .
Histoplasmosis
Ohio and Mississippi river valleys
Blastomycosis
Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio River valleys and the Great lakes region.
Ginguve
Mostly Pulmonary Nodules
Classic appearance on modified Wright's stain
Coccidiodomycosis
Dust exposure in endemic areas, due to occupational activities agricultural or construction workers
Military personnel training in endemic areas
Construction work, and model airplane competitions
Natural disasters such as earthquakes and windstorms
It is a dimorphic fungus and on microscopy, the following can be seen
Autoimmune conditions
Pemphigus vulgaris
Intraepithelial blister with acantholysis and chronic inflammation
Mucous membrane pemphigoid (Cicatricial pemphigoid)
Subepidermal vesicle contains edema fluid, fibrin and variable inflammatory cells
Perivascular lymphohistiocytic infiltrate, plasma cells and neutrophils
Fewer eosinophils than generalized bullous pemphigoid
Conjunctival squamous metaplasia with foci of hyperkeratosis and parakeratosis, accompanied by goblet cell depletion; conjunctival vesicles or bulla are rare
Aphthous ulcer
Shallow, round to oval ulcer with white or yellow pseudomembrane surrounded by halo
In chronic ulcer grey membrane may replace the yellow pseudomembrane
Appear on the non-keratinizing epithelial surfaces in the mouth.
Except the attached gingiva, the hard palate and the dorsum of the tongue
Erythema multiforme
Infections e.g. EBV, CMV herpes, and mycoplasma etc
Drugs e.g. sulfonamides, anticonvulsants etc
Subepidermal bullae with basement membrane in bullae roof due to dermal edema
Severe dermal inflammatory infiltrate (includes lymphocytes, histiocytes)
Eosinophils may be present, but neutrophils are sparse or absent
Overlying epidermis often demonstrates liquefactive necrosis and degeneration, dyskeratotic keratinocytes
May also have dermoepidermal bullae with basal lamina at floor of bullae
Variable epidermal spongiosis and eosinophils
No leukocytoclasis, no microabscesses, no festooning of dermal papillae
Sjogren's Syndrome
Affects salivary and lacrimal glands
Extensive lymphoid infiltrate with germinal centers, often interstitial fibrosis and acinar atrophy.
Bullous pemphigoid
Psoriasis
Parkinson's disease
Dementia
Certain drugs e.g. spironolactone, loop diuretics and neuroleptics
Malignancies e.g. breast cancer
Idiopathic conditions
Allergic contact stomatitis
Irritant contact stomatitis