Oral cavity & oropharynx
Inflammatory / immune mediated (noninfectious)
Aphthous ulcers
Last author update: 1 June 2013
Last staff update: 12 October 2020
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PubMed Search: Aphthous ulcers[TI] oral cavity
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Case reports | Treatment | Clinical images | Gross description | Microscopic (histologic) descriptionCite this page: DeVilliers P, Thakral C. Aphthous ulcers. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/oralcavityaphthous.html. Accessed April 20th, 2024.
Definition / general
- Also called canker sores
- Affect 40% in U.S.
- More common up to 20 years
- Painful, recurrent and familial
Case reports
- 26 year old HIV+ man with recurrent ulcer treated with laser therapy (Case Rep Med 2012;2012:695642)
Treatment
- Symptomatic
Clinical images
Images hosted on other servers:
Aphthous ulcers
26 year old man:
Minor ulcer
Major ulcer
Laser therapy
After one week of laser treatment
Gross description
- Single or multiple, shallow, hyperemic ulcerations covered by a thin exudate with hyperemic rim
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Initially mononuclear infiltrate, then neutrophilic infiltrate from secondary bacterial infection
