[Electron microscopy of the oral mucosa in pemphigus vulgaris]

Oral lesions in a typical case of pemphigus vulgaris were investigated electron microscopically. The region of the basement membrane shows only minor changes. The basal cells have normal hemidesmosomes whereas the desmosomes disappear. Acantholytic cells sometimes reveal remnants of desmosomes. The tonofilaments show perinuclear centralization. The findings seem to indicate that the immunopathological process affects the cellular walls and thus separates existing desmosomal contacts and at the same time inhibits new desmosome formation.