Mucosa Colour Changes Flashcards
what can cause oral white lesions
smoking/ frictional changes
lichen planus
candidal leukoplakia
carcinoma
why are white lesions white
the red colour of mucosa comes from the connective tissues - where the blood vessels are
when there is thickening of the mucosa or keratin there is less visibility of blood so appears more white
what is leukoplakia
a white patch which cannot be scraped off or attributed to any other cause
what are Fordyce’s spots
benign, variation of normal with no malignancy potential
white bumps on the buccal mucosa
where might you find frictional keratosis
in patients who grind their teeth on the buccal mucosa along the occlusal plane
why might smokers get frictional keratosis
trauma from thermal gases
what is hereditary keratosis
not traumatic - occurs in areas not subject to trauma
what is an example of hereditary keratosis
white sponge naevus - fluid accumulating between the epithelium
what is idiopathic keratosis
clearly defined white lesion with normal mucosa surrounding
what must you do with idiopathic keratosis lesions
biopsy them
what medications might cause white lesions
aspirin - aspirin burns
what are the three types of infective causes that contribute to white patches
pseudomembranous acute candidiasis
denture associated chronic candidiasis
herpes simplex
what does pseudomembranous suggest
they membrane can be scraped off and leaves a red inflamed area underneath
how does herpes simplex appear as white lesions
they appear as white vesicles on the lips
when to refer a white lesion
if lesion is becoming more raised and thickened
if lesion is without cause
take photograph with referral
why are red lesions red
blood flow increases due to inflammation and dysplasia
there is also reduced thickness of the epithelium
what is erythroplakia
a red patch which cannot be attribute to any other cause
what is more of a concern of malignancy leukoplakia or erythroplakia
erythroplakia
does erythroplakia require biopsy
yes
what are red/blue lesions
fluid in connective tissue
what does dark red/blue lesions suggest
slow moving blood - varicosities
what does light blue lesions suggest
clear fluid, saliva or lymph
what would be a lesion that can increase and decrease in size
a vascular lesion
what is a tell-tale sign of a malignancy with regards to size
it will only increase in size
what could a blue round lesion on the labial mucosa be
haemangioma
what are the three types of vasculitic diseases (connective tissue disease)
large vessel disease
medium vessel disease
small vessel disease
what is an example of large vessel disease
giant cell (temporal) arteritis
what are two examples of medium vessel disease
polyarteritis nodosa
kawasaki disease
what is an example of small vessel disease
granulomatosis with polyangitis
what causes external pigmented lesions
tea, coffee, chlorhexidine, bacterial overgrowth
what causes internal pigmented lesions
melanin producing melanocytes
what is reactive melanosis
normal number of melanocytes producing increased amounts of melanin
what is a naevus
melanocyte is increased in number all producing normal levels of melanin
what can be causes of localised brown or black lesions
amalgam
melanotic macule
melanotic naevus
malignant melanoma
Kaposi’s sarcoma
what can be causes of generalised brown or black lesions
racial/ familial
smoking
drugs
addison’s disease - raised ACTH conditions
what drugs can cause brown or black lesions
oral contraceptive pill
tetracyclines
what is the link between ACTH and melaninn
raised ACTH levels cause melanocytes to make more melanin
how to determine to refer mucosal pigmentation
is it easily explained
is it increasing in size, colour or quantity
any new systemic problems
what are the attributes of a melanoma
variable pigmentation
irregular outline
raised surface
symptomatic (itch and bleeds)
what is the purpose of biopsies
identifies or excludes malignancy
identifies dysplasia
identifies other disease
