Terminologies used in Oral Pathology

Terminology/ Nomenclature Communication Documentation Description Classification/ categorization

Types General terms Clinical terms Histologic terms

Definition Maximum expression in minimum words

General terms

Provisional diagnosis Diagnosis arrived at after history taking and clinical examination but before any investigations. Preliminary educated assumption or guess as to the nature or status of the condition prior to the analysis of other diagnostic data

Differential diagnosis Process of identifying a particular disease process by differentiating it from all other pathologic processes that may have similar signs and symptoms or clinical course

Final Diagnosis Diagnosis arrived after all the data (History, clinical examination and investigations ) has been collected, analyzed and subjected to logical thought.

Prognosis Prediction of the course, duration and termination of a disease and the likelihood of its response to treatment

Investigations Steps undertaken to confirm a diagnosis which was established following case history taking and physical examination.

Laboratory Investigations Extension of physical examination in which tissue, blood,urine, saliva or any other specimen is obtained from the patients body and subjected to microscopic, biochemical, microbiological or immunological examination

Clinical terms

Inspection Systematic visual assessment of the patient

Method of examining with the hands using the sense of touch Palpation Method of examining with the hands using the sense of touch

Percussion Technique of striking the tissues with the fingers or an instrument so that the examiner may listen to the resulting sounds or note the response of the patient to such action

Auscultation Technique of listening to sounds produced in the body using a stethoscope.

Lesion Morphologically altered tissue with objective signs of disease

Symptom Any change in the body or its function that is perceptible to the patient and may indicate a disease. Eg : Pain

Sign Any change in the body or its function that is perceptible to a trained observer and may indicate a specific disease. Eg : Tenderness

Hypersensitivity Exaggerated response to any stimulus which otherwise would not have caused the same degree of response.

Abscess Acute inflammatory reaction localized within the tissue and associated with tissue destruction and liquefaction as well as pus formation

Cellulitis Acute inflammation which spreads diffusely through the tissue spaces and along tissue planes and usually suppurative in nature.

Exudate It is the edema fluid produced by certain inflammatory reactions having a higher specific gravity (1.020 or higher) and a higher protein content (1-6 gm/dl)

Transudate It is the edema fluid produced by certain noninflammatory conditions having a low specific gravity and a low protein content

Macule Well circumscribed flat area of altered coloration varying in size from a pinhead to several cms

Macule

Macule/Patch

Papule Small well circumscribed solid,elevated lesion less than 5 mm in diameter

Nodule well circumscribed solid,elevated lesion more than 5 mm in diameter

Nodule

Plaque

Vesicle Small well circumscribed fluid filled lesion less than 5 mm in diameter

Bulla well circumscribed fluid filled lesion larger than 5 mm in diameter

Bullae

Pustule well circumscribed pus filled lesion smaller than 5 mm in diameter

Erosion Break in the epithelium extending to but not involving the basal cell layer

Erosion

Ulcer Break in the continuity of the entire epithelium with the resultant exposure of the underlying connective tissue

Ulcer

Sinus Blind tract which connects a cavity lined by granulation tissue to the epithelial surface

Fistula Example: Oro antral fistula Communication between two epithelium lined surfaces Example: Oro antral fistula

White lesion Abnormal area of oral mucosa which appears whiter than the surrounding tissue and is usually slightly raised, roughened or of a different texture than the adjacent normal tissue.

Keratotic White Lesion White lesion of the oral cavity which cannot be removed by rubbing or scraping

Non Keratotic White Lesion White lesion of the oral cavity which can be removed by rubbing or scraping

Premalignant lesion Eg: Leukoplakia Morphologically altered tissue in which cancer is more likely to occur than its apparently normal counterpart Eg: Leukoplakia

Premalignant Condition Generalized state associated with significantly increased risk of developing cancer Eg: Iron deficiency anemia

Hamartoma Eg: Haemangioma Tumour like malformation characterized by the presence of particular histologic tissues in improper proportions or distribution with a prominent excess of one type of tissue. Eg: Haemangioma

Teratoma True neoplasm made up of a number of different types of tissues that are not native to the area in which the tumour occurs.

Choristoma Eg: Fordyces granules Microscopically normal cells present in abnormal location Eg: Fordyces granules

Neoplasm Abnormal mass of tissue, the growth of which exceeds and is uncoordinated with that of the normal tissue and persists in the same excessive manner even after the cessation of the stimulus that evoked the change

Hypertrophy Example: Masseteric hypertrophy Increase in the size of an organ or tissue due to an increase in the size of the cells Example: Masseteric hypertrophy

Hyperplasia Example: Gingival hyperplasia Increase in the size of an organ or tissue due to an increase in the number of the cells Example: Gingival hyperplasia

Hypoplasia Example: Enamel hypoplasia Incomplete development of an organ or tissue Example: Enamel hypoplasia

Aplasia Example: Condylar aplasia Complete failure of formation of organ/tissue Example: Condylar aplasia

Atrophy Example: Papillary atrophy Decrease in the size of an organ or tissue after complete formation Example: Papillary atrophy

Pedunculated

Pedunculated

Sessile

Sessile

Diffuse

Coalescing

Exophytic

Firm

Cheesy

Hard

Histologic terms

Hyperkeratosis Thickening of the stratum corneum

Acanthosis Thickening /Widening of the stratum spinosum

Spongiosis Intercellular edema

Acantholysis Separation of cells in stratum spinosum resulting in intraepithelial split

Dysplasia Irregular, atypical proliferative changes in the epithelium in response to chronic irritation or inflammation

Anaplasia Reversal of highly differentiated cells into a less differentiated type

Metaplasis Is the reversible replacement of one differentiated cell type with another mature differentiated cell type

Metastasis Metastasis is a complex process that involves the spread of a tumor or cancer to distant parts of the body from its original site

Mutation A relatively permanent change in hereditary material involving either a physical change in chromosome relations or a biochemical change in the codons that make up genes