[Histological study of idiopathic gingival melanosis]

Idiopathic gingival melanosis was studied from a histological viewpoint. Structural data obtained with light, transmission and scanning electron microscopy were correlated. Marked pigmentation, of the epithelium, fundamentally in basal strata, was observed. Scanning electron microscopy revealed three different cellular patterns, distinguishable on the basis of the surface configuration of the apical membrane.