Lecture 2 Non Keratinizedmucosa Non Keratinocytes

ORAL MUCOSA
NON-KERATINIZED
Lecture 2 on Oral Mucous Membrane
DR. AMIT GUPTA

READER
DEPARTMENT OF ORAL PATHOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
 Oral mucosa Stratified squamous epithelium and underlying
connective tissue consisting of a lamina propria and
submucosa.
 Size & no of Connective tissue

papilla vary with each region of
oral mucosa
 Increased convolution of
junction between epithelium &
Connective tissue is proportional
to degree of mechanical stress at a
particular site
CLASSIFICATION
On functional basis the oral mucosa is divided into

 MASTICATORY MUCOSA : Gingiva & Hard palate
 LINING OR REFLECTING MUCOSA: lip, cheek,

alveolar mucosa, floor of mouth, soft palate.
 SPECIALIZED MUCOSA Dorsum of tongue ,

Vermillion zone of lip, Junctional epithelium.
Turnover rate of epithelium
 Time a cell takes to divide & pass through the
entire epithelium
 Non keratinized: the superficial layer cells are
flexible, susceptible to damage, so rapid

replacement is required for epithelial integrity
Henceforth, high turnover rate.
rate
NON KERATINIZED EPITHELIUM
(Tencate)
STRATUM BASALE
Progenitor cells, Cuboidal in shape present as single
layer adjacent to lamina propria.

Site of most cell divisions
Contains cell organelles nucleolus, mitochondria,
ribosomes, tonofilaments
Non serrated basal cells contain few cytoplasmic
organelles least differentiated.
 Represent stem cell & Transit amplifying cell.
 High N:C ratio, Exp K19 lack of keratin filament
bundle, High level of β1 integrin.
Serrated basal cell cytoplasmic processes projecting

in to underlying surface.
 Pedicles are rich in hemidesmosomes filament
bundle terminating at attachment plaque.
 Heavily Labelled with thymidine labelling.
Stratum intermedium
 Cells are larger than spinous layer.

 Intercellular spaces are not
distended , so cells do not have a prickly
appearance in contrast to keratrinized
epithelium.
 Cells contain keratin filaments distributed
sparsely in the cells which are biochemically
different from keratinized.
 Cells are attached by desmosomes.
Stratum superficiale
 Contains nucleated cells in comparision to keratinized which
have pyknotic nuclei

 Less number of tonofilaments
 Lack keratohyaline granules
 Ultimately desquamate
 Higher rate of mitosis

Non Keratinized areas
Lip & Cheek
Vestibular Fornix & alveolar mucosa
Inferior surface of tongue and floor of oral cavity
Soft Palate
LIP (Tencate)
Anatomically lip is divided into

Skin of external area
Vermillion border
Mucus membrane
LIP SKIN
 Lip skin: keratinized layer of epidermis lies on the bed of

connective tissue .
 Connective tissue: sweat glands sebaceous glands & bases of
hair follicle.
Section of lip (Berkovitz)
Masson trichrome X30
Vermillion zone of lip
 Epithelium
Thin Translucent & keratinized
 Connective tissue
Papilla Long & Narrow capillary
loops are present. Lacks mucus
glands
LABIAL & VENTRAL
ALVEOLAR FLOOR OF THE
FEATURES BUCCAL SOFT PALATE SURFACE OF
MUCOSA MOUTH
MUCOSA TONGUE
STRATIFIED STRATIFIED STRATIFIED STRATIFIED STRATIFIED

COVERING SQUAMOUS SQUAMOUS SQUAMOUS SQUAMOUS SQUAMOUS
EPITHELIUM EPITHELIUM EPITHELIUM EPITHELIUM EPITHELIUM EPITHELIUM
EPITHELIAL
VERY THICK THIN VERY THIN THIN THIN
THICKNESS
TYPE OF NON- NON- NON- NON- NON-

KERATINI-ZATION KERATINIZED KERATINIZED KERATINIZED KERATINIZED KERATINIZED
NON
KERATINOCYTES
 About 10% of the cells of the oral epithelium are non-keratinocytes
as they do not have the ability to keratinize.
These cells include:
1. Melanocytes
2. Langerhans cells
3. Merkel cells
4. Inflammatory cells
These cells lack desmosomal attachments with the adjacent cells
(except the Merkel cell).
The cytoplasm shrinks around the nucleus to produce a clear halo
during the histologic preparation, thus, they are also called clear
cells.
MELANOCYTES
 They are pigment (melanin)-producing cells derived from the neural crest.
 They migrate into the basal layer of the epithelium.
 They are thought to be long, living cells that are self-replicating.
 They lack tonofilaments & desmosomes but have long branching dendritic
processes that extend in several directions & across several layers of
epithelium.
Each melanocyte establishes
contact with 30–40
keratinocytes through its
dendritic process.
Melanin is synthesized by
Melanocytes using the enzyme
tyrosinase.
It is packed in small granules

called Melanosomes that are
transferred into the cytoplasm
of the adjacent keratinocytes
through the dendritic process.
Sometimes, the melanin pigment can be dispersed in the
connective tissue where it is taken up by the macrophages,
termed melanophages.
Melanocytes appear as clear cells in the haematoxylin
section & have a spider-like appearance
with silver stain (dendritic cell).
LANGERHANS
CELLS
 Langerhans cell is a clear or dendritic cell seen in the upper
layer of oral epithelium derived from the bone marrow.
 It leaves the bloodstream, enters the lamina propria &
penetrates the basal lamina to reach the epithelium.
 This migration is related to the release of chemokines by the
keratinocytes to the surface receptors on the Langerhans cells.
Under a light microscope, these cells appear as clear cells
due to the lack of desmosomes.
Ultrastructurally, these cells have vacuolated nucleus &
characteristic rod- or flask-shaped granules called Birbeck’s
granules.
 Langerhans cells have an immunologic function as antigen-presenting cells.
 They recognize antigens entering the epithelium from the external
environment & engulf them.
 Intracellular lysosomes present in the Langerhans cells split the antigens into
peptide components and then transfer and present these fragments to the T-
lymphocytes either locally or at the lymph nodes.
MERKEL CELLS
These are seen in the
basal layer close to nerve
fibres.
Merkel cells respond to
touch sensation.
These cells are not
dendritic.
They occasionally
possess keratin filaments
& desmosomes & hence
do not appear as clear
cells histologically.
 Ultrastructurally, these cells have a nucleus which shows deep invagination
& a characteristic rodlet appearance.
 These cells are more commonly seen in masticatory mucosa.
The other characteristic finding is the presence of small,
membrane-bound granules in the cytoplasm which are seen
in close proximity to the nerve fibre associated with the cell,
which generates an impulse.
INFLAMMATORY CELLS
 A number of inflammatory cells can be seen in various layers of epithelium.
 These inflammatory cells are transient & do not reproduce themselves in the
epithelium like other non-keratinocytes.
Thank You

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ORAL MUCOSA

DR. AMIT GUPTA

 Size & no of Connective tissue

On functional basis the oral mucosa is divided into

 LINING OR REFLECTING MUCOSA: lip, cheek,

 SPECIALIZED MUCOSA Dorsum of tongue ,

 Time a cell takes to divide & pass through the

 Non keratinized: the superficial layer cells are

flexible, susceptible to damage, so rapid

Progenitor cells, Cuboidal in shape present as single

layer adjacent to lamina propria.

Contains cell organelles nucleolus, mitochondria,

Serrated basal cell cytoplasmic processes projecting

 Cells are larger than spinous layer.

 Contains nucleated cells in comparision to keratinized which

have pyknotic nuclei

 Lack keratohyaline granules

 Higher rate of mitosis

Lip & Cheek

Vestibular Fornix & alveolar mucosa

Inferior surface of tongue and floor of oral cavity

Anatomically lip is divided into

 Lip skin: keratinized layer of epidermis lies on the bed of

STRATIFIED STRATIFIED STRATIFIED STRATIFIED STRATIFIED

TYPE OF NON- NON- NON- NON- NON-

It is packed in small granules

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