Erythroplakia (erythroplasia) is an entirely red patch that cannot be attributed to any other cause. Erythroleukoplakia can therefore be considered a variant of either leukoplakia or erythroplakia since its appearance is midway between. Erythroleukoplakia frequently occurs on the buccal mucosa in the commissural area (just inside the cheek at the corners of the mouth) as a mixed lesion of white nodular patches on an erythematous background, although any part of the mouth may be affected. Erythroleukoplakia and erythroplakia have a higher risk of cancerous changes than homogeneous leukoplakia. Sublingual keratosis
Sometimes leukoplakia of the floor of mouth or under the tongue is called sublingual keratosis,. though this is not universally accepted to be a distinct clinical entity from idiopathic leukoplakia generally, as it is distinguished from the latter by location only. Usually sublingual keratoses are bilateral and possess a parallel-corrugated, wrinkled surface texture described as "ebbing tide". Candidal leukoplakia
Candidal leukoplakia is usually considered to be a largely historical synonym for a type of oral candidiasis, now more commonly termed chronic hyperplastic candidiasis, rather than a subtype of true leukoplakia. However, some sources use this term to refer to leukoplakia lesions that become colonized secondarily by Candida species, thereby distinguishing it from hyperplastic candidiasis. Oral hairy leukoplakia
Oral hairy leukoplakia is a corrugated ("hairy") white lesion on the sides of the tongue caused by opportunistic infection with Epstein-Barr virus on a systemic background of immunodeficiency, almost always human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
History
The term leukoplakia was coined in 1861 by Karl Freiherr von Rokitansky, who used it to refer to white lesions of the urinary tract. In 1877, Schwimmer first used the term for an oral white lesion. It is now thought that this white lesion on the tongue represented syphilitic glossitis, a condition not included in the modern definitions of oral leukoplakia. Since then, the word leukoplakia has been incorporated into the names for several other oral lesions (e.g. candidal leukoplakia, now more usually termed hyperplastic candidiasis). In 1930, it was shown experimentally that leukoplakia could be induced in rabbits that were subjected to tobacco smoke for 3 minutes per day. According to one source from 1961, leukoplakia can occur on multiple different mucous membranes of the body, including in the urinary tract, rectum, vagina, uterus, vulva, paranasal sinuses, gallbladder, esophagus, eardrums, and pharynx. Generally, oral leukoplakia is the only context where the term is in common usage in modern medicine. In 1988, a case report used the term acquired dyskeratotic leukoplakia to refer to an acquired condition in a female where dyskeratotic cells were present in the epithelia of the mouth and genitalia. : 480 : 806

References


== External links ==