Aphthous stomatitis of the mouth. The word is derived from the Greek word "aphtha" meaning "eruption" or "ulcer". The lesions of several other oral conditions are sometimes described as aphthae, including Bednar's aphthae (infected, traumatic ulcers on the hard palate in infants), oral candidiasis, and foot-and-mouth disease. When used without qualification, "aphthae" commonly refers to lesions of recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Since the word aphtha is often taken to be synonymous with ulcer, it has been suggested that the term "aphthous ulcer" is redundant, but it remains in common use. Stomatitis is also a non-specific term referring to any inflammatory process in the
Aphthous stomatitis T cells. Persons with aphthous stomatitis also have circulating lymphocytes which react with peptides 91–105 of heat shock protein 65–60, and the ratio of CD4+ T cells to CD8+ T cells in the peripheral blood of individuals with aphthous stomatitis is decreased. Aphthous stomatitis has been associated with other autoimmune diseases, namely systemic lupus erythematosus and inflammatory bowel diseases. However, common autoantibodies are not detected in most patients, and the condition tends to resolve spontaneously with advancing age rather than worsen. Evidence for the T cell-mediated mechanism of mucosal destruction is strong, but the exact triggers for this process are