title: Oral pigmented lesions: Clinicopathologic features and review of the literature.
abstract: Diagnosis of pigmented lesions of the oral cavity and perioral tissues is challenging. Even though epidemiology may be of some help in orientating the clinician and even though some lesions may confidently be diagnosed on clinical grounds alone, the definitive diagnosis usually requires histopathologic evaluation. Oral pigmentation can be physiological or pathological, and exogenous or endogenous. Color, location, distribution, and duration as well as drugs use, family history, and change in pattern are important for the differential diagnosis. Dark or black pigmented lesions can be focal, multifocal or diffuse macules, including entities such as racial pigmentation, melanotic macule, melanocytic nevus, blue nevus, smoker's melanosis, oral melanoacanthoma, pigmentation by foreign bodies or induced by drugs, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, Addison's disease and oral melanoma. The aim of this review is to present the main oral black lesions contributing to better approach of the patients.
authors.affiliation: Oral Pathology Division, Department of Oral Diagnosis, Piracicaba Dental School, State University of Campinas, Piracicaba, Brazil. rogeriogondak@fop.unicamp.br
authors.forename: Rogério-Oliveira
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Gondak
authors.forename: Rogério
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: da Silva-Jorge
authors.forename: Jacks
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jorge
authors.forename: Márcio-Ajudarte
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: Pablo-Agustin
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Vargas
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D017495:Hyperpigmentation / Q000473:pathology*; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000473:pathology*