Flash information
- Border
- Round or oval
- Base
- White-yellow fibrinous base
- Halo
- Erythematous
- Symptom
- Pain
Definition
An aphtha is a painful superficial mucosal ulcer, usually surrounded by an erythematous halo.
Examination or reading method
Establish recurrence, number, size, duration and sites; inspect the whole mouth and assess extraoral findings.
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.
Associated findings
Assess genital ulcers, ocular inflammation, skin and gastrointestinal features; aphthae alone do not diagnose Behçet disease.
Red flags
A chronic, indurated or unusual ulcer warrants specific assessment, including exclusion of a tumour.
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