MOUTH ULCER / ORAL ULCER / MUCOSAL ULCER
A mouth ulcer is an ulcer that occurs on the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. The two most common causes of oral ulceration are local trauma (e.g. rubbing from a sharp edge on a broken filling or braces, biting one's lip, etc.) and aphthous stomatitis ("canker sores"), a condition characterized by recurrent formation of oral ulcers for largely unknown reasons. EROSION : is a superficial breach of the epithelium, with little damage to the underlying lamina propria. MUCOSAL EROSION: is an erosion which specifically occurs on a mucous membrane. EXCORIATION: is a term sometimes used to describe a breach of the epithelium which is deeper than an erosion but shallower than an ulcer. ULCERATION: is a break in the skin or mucous membrane with loss of surface tissue and the disintegration and necrosis of epithelial tissues. Diagramatic representation of mucosal erosion (left), excoriation (center), ...