descriptive terminology Flashcards
How to Describe Soft Tissue Lesions
Location and distribution
Size
Color
Descriptive terms
Feel on palpation
Relationship to surrounding structures
What does white indicate?
Keratin
Candidiasis
Plaque
What does red indicate?
Red blood cells
Inflammation
What does purple indicate?
Red blood cells
Inflammation
What does blue indicate?
Red blood cells (venous)
Mucous
Melanin (tyndall effect)
Foreign material
What does black/gray indicate?
Foreign material
Melanin
Hemosiderin
Necrosis
What does brown indicate?
Melanin
Hemosiderin
What does yellow indicate?
Adipose tissue
Cholesterol clefts
Foam cells
Keratin
Fibrin membrane
Actinomycosis
What is a macule?
A focal area of mucosa distinguished by color, not elevated or depressed.
What colors can a macule be?
Blue, brown, or black.
How big is a macule?
Smaller than 1 cm.
Labial Melanotic Macule
What is an Amalgam Tattoo?
it happens when tiny particles of dental amalgam accidentally embed into the soft tissues during a dental procedure, like filling a cavity. These particles create a tattoo-like stain because they contain metals like silver or tin.
What is a patch?
A circumscribed area larger than a macule, distinguished by color, texture, or both.
How is a patch similar to a macule?
Both are neither elevated nor depressed.
Post Inflammatory pigmentation patch
What is a plaque?
A slightly elevated lesion with a flat surface.
How large is a plaque?
Larger than 1 cm.
EPITHELIAL DYSPLASIA/ORAL CANCER
What is a papule?
A small, solid, raised lesion with a smooth surface.
How big is a papule?
Smaller than 1 cm.
What is a nodule?
A solid, large, raised lesion
How big is a nodule?
larger than 1 cm
What is a key feature of a nodule?
It can often be palpated due to proliferation within connective tissues.
What is a vesicle?
A circumscribed, elevated, fluid-filled blister
How big is a vesicle?
smaller than 5 mm
How are oral vesicle lesions described?
Often transient and may rupture, leaving erosion or ulceration.
Where can vesicles form?
Intra-epithelial or sub-epithelial layers.
What is a bullae?
A circumscribed, elevated, fluid-filled blister
How big is a bullae?
larger than 5 mm
How are bullae similar to vesicles?
Both are often transient and may rupture to leave erosion or ulceration
Both can form Intra-epithelial or sub-epithelial layers
What condition may cause bullae to be inducible?
Pemphigus vulgaris (Nikolsky sign)
What is a pustule?
A circumscribed, elevated blister filled with purulent exudate (pus).
How large are pustules?
Usually smaller than 1 cm.
What color are pustules?
Creamy-white to yellow.
How do pustules differ from vesicles and bullae?
Pustules contain pus (pimple), while vesicles and bullae contain serum or lymph and appear clear.
What is erosion?
A depressed, superficial lesion from partial loss of the mucosa that heals without scarring
How does erosion appear?
Slightly depressed.
What is ulceration?
A well-circumscribed lesion with a break in the surface epithelium, extending to the underlying connective tissue.
How does ulceration appear? Are the painful?
Depressed or excavated
They are painful
What does the ulcer bed contain during healing?
White-yellow fibrin to cover the connective tissue until re-epithelialization occurs.
What is a fissure?
A narrow, linear cleavage or groove that may or may not extend through the mucosa.
Can fissures be normal or abnormal?
Either
What are petechiae?
Tiny round brown-red spots due to bleeding under the mucosa.
What is purpura?
A rash of red-purple spots caused by bleeding from small blood vessels.
What is ecchymosis?
Discoloration of subcutaneous tissue from bleeding, larger than 1 cm.
What does sessile describe in an exophytic lesion?
A tumor or growth where the base is the widest part of the lesion.
What does pedunculated describe in an exophytic lesion?
A tumor or growth where the base is narrower than the widest part of the lesion.
What does fluctuant feel like on palpation?
Movable and compressible.
What does indurated feel like on palpation?
Firm or hard (not as hard as bone), usually associated with cancer.
What is a cyst?
A pathologic epithelium-lined cavity, often filled with liquid or semi-solid contents.
Where can cysts occur?
In soft tissue or bone.
How to Describe Intraosseous Lesions
Type of radiograph
Location and distribution
Size
Density (radiolucent, radiopaque, mixed density)
Internal architecture
Borders
Relationship to surroundings (relationship to tooth)
What does radiolucent density mean on radiographs?
Almost entirely transparent to radiation, appearing dark (black).
What does radiolucency indicate about bone?
It indicates the normal bone has been completely resorbed.
What does radiopaque mean in terms of density?
Not transparent to X-rays or other forms of radiation; filled with a mineralized matrix.
How does radiopaque appear on radiographs?
White
What does unilocular mean in terms of internal architecture?
It means being characterized by only one compartment or cavity.
What does multilocular mean in terms of internal architecture?
It means many-celled, having or divided into many small chambers or cavities.
What may Small locules resemble?
Honeycombs
What may Big locules resemble?
Soap bubbles
What may be some texture descriptors in radiopaque, internal architecture?
Ground glass
Orange peel
What does “ground glass” appearance mean in bone?
A smooth, homogeneous, finely granular mixed radiolucent/radiopaque appearance.
What does corticated mean in terms of borders?
Well-defined with a thin, uniform, radiopaque line at the periphery of a lesion within bone.
What does punched out mean in terms of borders?
Well-defined, with no changes in the surrounding bone. (non corticated)
What does a wide zone of transition indicate about borders?
Poorly defined, blending unperceivable into the surrounding bone.
Pericoronal
occurring about or surrounding the crown of a tooth.
Periapical
encompassing or surrounding the tip of the root of a tooth.
What are the effects of a lesion on adjacent teeth?
Displacement or resorption of teeth, which may appear blunt or spiking.
How is expansion assessed?
It is assessed on 3D imaging.
What is periosteal reaction?
New bone formation in response to abnormal stimuli.
What does “cotton-wool” appearance in bone mean?
Ill-defined, coarse or clumped, mixed density due to a disorganized trabecular pattern.
What does “multifocal” mean in terms of bone lesions?
Present in more than one area or involving several areas or quadrants of bone at the same time.
What does “onion-skin” appearance refer to?
Multi-layered or laminated deposition of bone, typically causing expansion of the jaw.
What does “scalloping” mean in bone lesions?
A series of contiguous arcs or semicircles around the roots of teeth or within adjacent bone cortices.
What is a “sclerotic border” in bone lesions?
A radiopaque border around a bone lesion representing reactive bone, usually not uniform in width.
What does “sunburst” appearance in bone indicate?
Radiating trabeculae of bone, typically arising from the cortical plate and expanding the jaw.
What is abrasion?
The wearing away of a layer of epithelium or mucosa through abnormal mechanical processes.
What does “annular” mean?
Shaped like a ring.
What is atrophy?
Decrease in the size of a cell, tissue, or organ, often causing increased translucency of mucosa.
What is a crust?
Dried residue of serum, blood, cellular debris, or other exudates.
What is ecchymosis?
A non-elevated area of hemorrhage, larger than petechiae (>1-2 cm).
What is erythroplakia?
A red lesion.
What is excoriation?
A scratch that removes the epidermis, producing a superficial lesion.
What is a fistula?
An abnormal passageway connecting two normal cavities or a normal cavity to the surface.
What is a hemangioma?
Proliferation of vascular endothelium, forming a mass of blood vessels.
What is a hematoma?
A localized collection of blood within an organ or connective tissues.
What is keratosis?
Increased production and retention of keratin, resulting in a raised lesion.
What is a laceration?
A wound made by tearing, often with irregular edges.
What is leukoplakia?
A white lesion.
What is a papilloma?
A benign tumor or growth projecting from the surface, exhibiting cauliflower-like outgrowths.
What is a polyp?
A small, spheroid, exophytic growth on a thin stalk.
What is a pseudomembrane?
A membranous layer of exudate containing organisms, fibrin, necrotic cells, and inflammatory cells.
What does “punctate” mean?
Marked with points or dots.
What is purpura?
A lesion caused by hemorrhage from small blood vessels, usually >3mm, and changes color from red to purple to brownish-yellow.
What is scale?
A desquamated group of cells due to increased epidermal cell proliferation.
What is a sinus tract?
An abnormal passageway connecting a pathologic entity (like an abscess) to a normal cavity or surface.
What does “stellate” mean?
Shaped like a star.
What are striae?
A stripe, band, or line distinguished by color, texture, or elevation from the surrounding tissue.
What is telangiectasia?
A vascular lesion caused by permanent dilation of small superficial blood vessels.
What is a tumor?
An abnormal mass of tissue that grows more rapidly than normal and continues after the stimulus is removed.
What is a varix?
A dilated or tortuous vessel, most often a vein.
What does “verrucous” describe?
A tumor or growth with a rough, warty surface.
What is a wheal?
An edematous papule or plaque from acute serum extravasation into the upper dermis, often red, pruritic, and short-lived.
