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Study Guide

Assessing the Mouth and Pharynx

READ CAREFULLY:

  1. Taylor, Lillis, & LeMone, Chapter 25 (pp. 474 - 475)
  2. Bickley, Chapter 5 (pp. 128 - 131; 140; 160 - 162; 198 - 207)
  3. Class lecture notes off the Internet

TERMS TO KNOW:

  1. Acute necrotizing gingivitis (trench mouth, Vincent's stomatitis)
    1. painful gingivitis characterized by redness, swelling, and ulceration of the gingival tissue in which a grayish membrane forms over the inflamed and ulcerated gingival margin
  2. Angioneurotic edema
    1. diffuse, nonpitting, tense, subcutaneous swelling of the lips
  3. Angular stomatitis (cheilosis)
    1. softening of the skin at the corners of the mouth, followed by painful fissuring or cracking
  4. Apthous ulcer (canker sore)
    1. a painful small, round, or oval ulcer with a white base surrounded by a red halo
  5. Atrophic glossitis
    1. tongue surface that is slick and shiny with thin mucosa which looks red from the decreased amount of papillae
  6. Black, hairy tongue
    1. tongue surface that is covered with elongated filiform papillae and a painless overgrowth of mycelial threads of fungus infection
  7. Candidiasis (monolial infection)
    1. white, cheesy, curdlike patches on the tongue that scrape off leaving a raw, red surface which bleeds easily
  8. Caviar lesions
    1. purplish or blue-black round swellings under the tongue; varicose veins of the tongue
  9. Chancre
    1. firm, buttonlike lesion which ulcerates and becomes crusted that is a primary lesion of syphillis
  10. Chelitis
    1. painful fissuring or cracking, chiefly of the lower lip, with inflammation, scaling, and crust formation
  11. Cleft lip
    1. a congenital defect in which there is failure of fusion of the maxillary processes
  12. Cleft palate
    1. congenital defect in which there is failure of fusion of the maxillary processes
  13. Epulis
    1. a nontender, localized enlargement of the gum that emerges between the teeth
  14. Fissured or scrotal tongue
    1. tongue surface that has deep furrows which divide the papillae into small irregular rows
  15. Fordyce spots
    1. small, yellowish spots visible on the buccal mucosa of most adults
  16. Gingival hyperplasia
    1. painless enlargement of the gums, sometimes overreaching the teeth
  17. Gingivitis
    1. gum margins that are red, swollen, and bleed easily
  18. Herpes simplex 1 (cold sore, fever blister)
    1. groups of clear vessicles with a surrounding erythematous base that evolve into pustules or crusts and heal in 4 - 10 days
  19. Hutchinson's teeth
    1. teeth that are notched on their biting surfaces, smaller than normal, more widely spaced than normal, and have their sides taper in; conigenital syphillis
  20. Kaposi's sarcoma
    1. bruiselike, dark red or violet, raised or flat lesions
  21. Koplick spots
    1. small, blue-white spots with irregular red halos scattered over the buccal mucosa opposite the molar that is an early sign of measles
  22. Leukoplakia
    1. chalky white, thick, raised patch with well-defined borders that is firmly attached and does not scrape off; precancerous lesion
  23. Macroglossitis
    1. tongue that is enlarged and may protrude from the mouth
  24. Migratory glossitis
    1. tongue surface that has a pattern of normal coating interspersed with bright red, shiny, circular bald areas, with raised pearly borders that resembles a map
  25. Mucus retention cyst (mucocele)
    1. round, regular, partially translucent or bluish nodule in the lip
  26. Periodontitis (pyorrhea)
    1. severe gingivitis in which the deep tissues around the feeth become inflamed, crevices beween the gums and teeth enlarge and pockets containing debris and purulent material develop in the areas, gum margins recede exposing the necks of the teeth, and the teeth may become loose
  27. Peritonitis
    1. inflammation of the serous membrane that lines the abdominal cavity and its viscera (peritoneal cavity)
  28. Peutz-Jeghers syndrome
    1. pigmented spots on the lips that are more prominent than freckling of the surrounding skin
  29. Torus palatinous
    1. midline bony outgrowth in the hard palate

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:

  1. Lecture
  2. Discussion
  3. Read the following PRIOR to class:
    1. Taylor, Lillis, & LeMone, Chapter 25 (pp. 474 - 475)
    2. Bickley, Chapter 5 (pp. 128 - 131; 140; 160 - 162; 198 - 207)
    3. Class lecture notes off the Internet

STUDY QUESTIONS TO REVIEW FOR TEST:

  1. Purposes of assessing the mouth.
  2. Function of the mouth.
  3. Structures of the mouth.
  4. Pertinent history related to assessing the mouth.
  5. Correct technique for inspecting the outer lips, inspecting the upper inner lip, palpating the upper inner lip, inspecting the gums around and the upper front teeth, inspecting the gums around and the upper and lower back teeth, inspecting the hard palate, inspecting the soft palate, uvula, anterior pillars, posterior pillars, tonsils (if present), and pharynx, inspecting the dorsal (top) surface of the tongue, inspecting the ventral (bottom) surface of the tongue, floor of the mouth and frenulum, inspecting the side of the tongue and floor of the mouth, palpating the tongue and the floor of the mouth.
  6. Normal findings obtained from inspecting the outer lips, inspecting the upper inner lip, palpating the upper inner lip, inspecting the gums around and the upper front teeth, inspecting the gums around and the upper and lower back teeth, inspecting the hard palate, inspecting the soft palate, uvula, anterior pillars, posterior pillars, tonsils (if present), and pharynx, inspecting the dorsal (top) surface of the tongue, inspecting the ventral (bottom) surface of the tongue, floor of the mouth and frenulum, inspecting the side of the tongue and floor of the mouth, palpating the tongue and the floor of the mouth.
  7. Implications of variations from normal findings obtained from inspecting the outer lips, inspecting the upper inner lip, palpating the upper inner lip, inspecting the gums around and the upper front teeth, inspecting the gums around and the upper and lower back teeth, inspecting the hard palate, inspecting the soft palate, uvula, anterior pillars, posterior pillars, tonsils (if present), and pharynx, inspecting the dorsal (top) surface of the tongue, inspecting the ventral (bottom) surface of the tongue, floor of the mouth and frenulum, inspecting the side of the tongue and floor of the mouth, palpating the tongue and the floor of the mouth.

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This page was last modified on 1/1/03