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Aphthae

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Dermatology in Public Health Environments

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Abstract

Aphthosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by painful recurrent oral ulcerations. The cause of aphthosis is unknown, and several studies indicate a role for the immune system in the physiopathogenesis of this disease. Oral lesions appear mainly on nonkeratinized mucosa as painful, regular, round or oval ulcers covered with a gray pseudomembrane and surrounded by an erythematous halo. The diagnosis of aphthosis is mainly established on clinical grounds. Treatment depends on the severity, recurrence rate, and response to previous therapies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine - São Paulo University, Hospital das Clínicas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Juliana Dumet Fernandes

  2. School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Marcello Menta S. Nico

Authors
  1. Juliana Dumet Fernandes
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  2. Marcello Menta S. Nico
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juliana Dumet Fernandes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dermatology Service of Clinical, Hospital of Porto Alegre, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Renan Rangel Bonamigo

  2. Health Secretary of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Sergio Ivan Torres Dornelles

Glossary

Aphtha

Synonymous to aphthosis. Also used as the description of the individual ulcer of the disease.

Aphthosis

A disease characterized by bursts of oral ulcerations, accompanied or not by ulcerations elsewhere (usually genitals) and systemic complaints.

Dapsone

Diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS), an antibiotic used in the treatment of leprosy and as an anti-inflammatory drug in several noninfectious skin diseases.

Herpetiform ulceration

One of several clinical types of aphthae, i.e., one that presents as multiple subintrant small ulcerations.

Oral ulcer

Any lesion characterized by loss of the oral epithelium.

Thalidomide

An immunomodulatory drug that is the prototype of the thalidomide class of drugs.

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Fernandes, J.D., Nico, M.M.S. (2018). Aphthae. In: Bonamigo, R., Dornelles, S. (eds) Dermatology in Public Health Environments. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33919-1_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33919-1_25

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33917-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33919-1

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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