Original MICA image-reading exercise, unscored. No clinical narrative absent from the source is added.
- Describe visible findings before proposing an interpretation.
- Suggest an interpretation and at least one image limitation.
- Which clinical findings or investigations would complement this observation?
Reveal the explained reading
Oral aphthae
- Border
- Round or oval
- Base
- White-yellow fibrinous base
- Halo
- Erythematous
- Symptom
- Pain
Morphological description
The base is white, yellow or grey; major ulcers last longer and may leave scars.
Causes and diagnostic direction
Isolated aphthae are common; severe or complex disease may suggest deficiency, enteropathy or systemic disease.
Differential diagnoses
Trauma, herpes, erosive lichen planus and medicine-related ulceration may resemble aphthae.
Pitfalls and limitations
Not every ulcer is an aphtha; recurrence and associated manifestations change diagnostic direction.
Take-home message
Describe the ulcer and its evolution before assigning aphthosis or a systemic disease.
Media source & rights
- Author
- Kai Sun; Rong-Hui Xia
- Original source
- Kai Sun; Rong-Hui Xia · Ulcérations aphteuses documentées · https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12903-023-02851-0 · CC BY 4.0
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Changes
- Proportional resize and WebP conversion only; metadata removed; full source figure preserved.
- Dimensions
- 685 × 514 px
- Check
- 2026-10-11