A mouth ulcer – up close

A mouth ulcer – up close

Christina Tran

This is a snapshot of what is happening in different parts of a mouth ulcer. The bottom slice is from an area around the ulcer, where the lining of the mouth (green) is unbroken. The top slice is from the ulcer itself, where you can see a break in the green lining. Lots of immune cells (yellow) are rushing into the breach, defending against microbes, getting rid of dead cells, and trying to start the healing process.