[Clinical picture of recurring aphthae in the mouth mucosa]

Various classifications of recurrent aphthous ulcers, their differential diagnosis, especially the herpetic ulcers of the oral mucous membranes, are discussed. The clinical and histological pictures show three variants, the minor form, the major form or periadenitis mucosa necrotica recurrens (Sutton), and the herpetiforme aphthous ulcers. Recent investigations discussing the etiology of these ulcers assume that an auto-antigen might be responsible for the immuno-pathological mechanism. This auto-antigen is supposed to be formed by the contamination of the oral mucosa with microorganisms, particularly streptococci.