The differential diagnosis of pyostomatitis vegetans and its relation to bowel disease

Pyostomatitis vegetans is a rare oral disorder that is usually associated with bowel and/or skin disease. The clinical appearance is of soft hyperplastic folds of mucosa characterized by small miliary abscesses with superficial erosions. Upon analysis of the clinical, histologic, and immunofluorescent findings, cases of pyostomatitis vegetans may be classified as the oral manifestation of either pyoderma vegetans of Hallopeau, pemphigus vegetans of Hallopeau, or pemphigus vegetans of Neumann, although the exact definitions and even the existence of these diseases as separate entities are still a matter of controversy.