ORAL MUCOSA  Taste buds

• Uninterrupted mucous membrane which is  Reflexes

continuous with the skin near the vermilion border of
the lips and with the pharyngeal mucosa in the  Thirst response
region of the soft palate and anterior pillar of fauces
• SECRETION
• Epithelium of oral mucosa originates from
ECTODERM except for TONGUE  ECTODERM o SALIVA

 Viscous fluid for maintenance of a

moist surface
3 TYPES OF MUCOSA
• PERMEABILITY AND ABSORPTION
• MASTICATORY MUCOSA
o Certain drugs are successfully absorbed
o Comes in primary contact with food during when held under the tongue
mastication
• THERMAL REGULATION
o Keratinized
o Only for animals like DOGS and not
o Areas of free gingiva & attached gingiva; applicable to humans
hard palate

• LINING MUCOSA
GENERAL HISTOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ORAL
o Doesn’t function in mastication; has little MUCOSA
attrition
• ORAL EPITHELIUM
o Soft, pliable & non-keratinized
o Stratified squamous epithelium
o Lips, cheeks, vestibule, floor of the mouth,
inferior surface of the tongue, soft palate • LAMINA PROPRIA/CORIUM

• SPECIALIZED MUCOSA o Underlying connective tissue layer

o Covered largely with cornified epithelial • CONNECTIVE TISSUE PAPILLAE

papilla
o Irregular and upward projections of
o Dorsum of the tongue connective tissue

o Interdigitates with EPITHELIAL PEGS

FUNCTIONS OF ORAL MUCOSA • RETE PEGS

• PROTECTION o Epithelial pegs/ridges that interdigitates

with connective tissue papillae
o Separates and protects deeper tissues and
organs in the oral region • BASEMENT MEMBRANE

o Acts as major barrier to surface abrasions o Structureless layer in between connective

and normal flora of the oral mucosa tissue and epithelium

• SENSATION • MUCOPERIOSTEUM

o Provides considerable information about o Provides firm, inelastic attachment of oral

events within the oral cavity mucosa directly to the periosteum of
underlying bone without intervening
 Temperature submucosa

 Touch o Binds mucosa to the alveolar process or

palatine bone
 Pain

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  STRATUM GRANULOSUM

• Larger flattened cells

containing small granules
HISTOLOGIC CHARACTERISTIC OF ORAL MUCOSA
called KERATOHYALIN
GRANULES
• SURFACE EPITHELIUM TYPES

o NON-KERATINIZATION • FLAGGRIN & LORICRIN

proteins
 STRATUM SUPERFICIALE
 STRATUM SPINOSUM
• Slightly more flattened
than in the preceding • Larger elliptical/spherical
layers cells

• Contain dispersed • DESMOSOMES/

tonofilaments and nuclei INTERCELLULAR
BRIDGES
• Non-keratinized
epithelium o Points where the
stratum
• Flexible and tolerant of spinosum remain
both compression and in contact with
distention each other

 STRATUM INTERMEDIUM  STRATUM BASALE

• Slight increase in cell size • Cuboidal or columnar cells

well as accumulation of adjacent to the basement
glycogen in cells of the membrane
surface layer
• Aka GERMINATIVE
 STRATUM BASALE
LAYER

• Cuboidal or columnar cells o ULTRASTRUCTURE OF EPITHELIAL

containing separate CELLS
tonofilaments and other
cell organelles  TONOFILAMENTS

• Site of most cell division

 INTERCELLULAR
BRIDGES/DESMOSOMES
o KERATINIZATION
• LAMINA PROPRIA/CORIUM
 TYPES:
o PAPILLARY LAYER/CONNECTIVE
• ORTHOKERATINIZATION TISSUE PAPILLA

• PARAKERATINIZATION  Interdigitates with RETE

PEGS
• INCOMPLETE
PARAKERATINIZATION o RETICULAR LAYER

 STRATUM CORNEUM  Densely arranged

connective tissue fibers
• Outermost keratinized
layer

• SQUAMES

o Do not contain
any nuclei

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-Rosette Go 031909 