Oral mucosa

Oral mucosa
Details
Latin	tunica mucosa oris
Anatomical terminology []

The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane lining the inside of the mouth and consists of stratified squamous epithelium termed oral epithelium and an underlying connective tissue termed lamina propria. The oral cavity has sometimes been described as a mirror that reflects the health of the individual. Changes indicative of disease are seen as alterations in the oral mucosa lining the mouth, which can reveal systemic conditions, such as diabetes or vitamin deficiency, or the local effects of chronic tobacco or alcohol use.

It can be divided into three main categories based on function and histology:

Oral mucosa consists of two layers, the surface stratified squamous epithelium and the deeper lamina propria. In keratinized oral mucosa, the epithelium consists of four layers:

In nonkeratinised epithelium, the two deep layers (basale and spinosum) remain the same but the outer layers are termed the intermediate and superficial layers.

Depending on the region of the mouth, the epithelium may be nonkeratinized or keratinized. Nonkeratinized squamous epithelium covers the soft palate, inner lips, inner cheeks, and the floor of the mouth, and ventral surface of the tongue. Keratinized squamous epithelium is present in the attached gingiva and hard palate as well as areas of the dorsal surface of the tongue.

Keratinization is the differentiation of keratinocytes in the stratum granulosum into nonvital surface cells or squames to form the stratum corneum. The cells terminally differentiate as they migrate to the surface from the stratum basale where the progenitor cells are located to the superficial surface.

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