U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Skip to Main Navigation
Skip to Page Content
Skip to Atlas Navigation

Oral Mucosa - Ulcer

Image of ulcer in the oral mucosa from a female F344/N rat in a chronic study
Oral mucosa - Ulcer in a female F344/N rat from a chronic study. A portion of the hard palate mucosa is absent (arrow), exposing the underlying connective tissue.
Figure 1 of 4
Image of ulcer in the oral mucosa from a female F344/N rat in a chronic study
Oral mucosa - Ulcer in a female F344/N rat from a chronic study (higher magnification of Figure 1). A portion of the hard palate mucosa is absent, exposing the underlying connective tissue.
Figure 2 of 4
Image of ulcer in the oral mucosa from a female F344/N rat in a chronic study
Oral mucosa - Ulcer in a female F344/N rat from a chronic study. A portion of the hard palate mucosa is absent (arrow), exposing the inflamed underlying connective tissue.
Figure 3 of 4
Image of ulcer in the oral mucosa from a female F344/N rat in a chronic study
Oral mucosa - Ulcer in a female F344/N rat from a chronic study (higher magnification of Figure 3). A portion of the hard palate mucosa is absent (arrow), exposing the inflamed underlying connective tissue.
Figure 4 of 4
next arrow
View all images

comment:

As with mucosal necrosis, mucosal ulceration in the oral cavity ( Figure 1image opens in a pop-up window , Figure 2image opens in a pop-up window , Figure 3image opens in a pop-up window , and Figure 4image opens in a pop-up window ) can be a treatment-related effect but is more commonly caused by trauma due to the gavage procedure and/or the presence of foreign bodies (hair shafts, food material). Areas of ulceration can be accompanied by chronic active inflammation ( Figure 3image opens in a pop-up window and Figure 4image opens in a pop-up window ) and granulation tissue. However, because of the proliferative capacity of the oral epithelium, minor traumatic lesions are usually healed in a few days. Keratinization of the squamous epithelium in the rodent oral cavity generally makes it less susceptible to direct toxicity from xenobiotics than the human oral cavity, which is lined primarily by a nonkeratinizing epithelium.

recommendation:

Ulcers should be diagnosed and graded based on the extent and number of lesions. Inflammation and epithelial hyperplasia associated with ulcers is usually not diagnosed separately unless it is a significant component of the lesion. If epithelial cells are missing from the mucosa but the basal layers are still present and covering the submucosa, then erosion may be diagnosed. Ulcers are diagnosed when a portion of the epithelium is absent or not attached to the submucosa. If the epithelium is necrotic but is still present and attached to the submucosa, then necrosis is diagnosed.

references:

Klein-Szanto AJP, Conti CJ, Aldaz CM. 1990. Skin and oral mucosa. In: Handbook of Toxicologic Pathology (Haschek WM, Rousseaux CG, eds). Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 85-119.
Abstract: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780123302151

Back to top

Web page last updated on: November 17, 2014