Aphthous stomatitis near to the ulcer, described histologically as "perivascular cuffing". Aphthous stomatitis has been classified as a type of non-infectious stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth). One classification distinguishes "common simple aphthae", accounting for 95% of cases, with 3–6 attacks per year, rapid healing, minimal pain and restriction of ulceration to the mouth; and "complex aphthae", accounting for 5% of cases, where ulcers may be present on the genital mucosa in addition to mouth, healing is slower and pain is more severe. A more common method of classifying aphthous stomatitis is into three variants, distinguished by the size, number and location of
Aphthous stomatitis this condition. The origin of the word "canker" is thought to have been influenced by Latin, Old English, Middle English and Old North French. In Latin, "cancer" translates to "malignant tumor" or literally "crab" (related to the likening of sectioned tumors to the limbs of a crab). The closely related word in Middle English and Old North French, "chancre", now more usually applied to syphilis, is also thought to be involved. Despite this etymology, aphthous stomatitis is not a form of cancer but rather entirely benign. An aphtha (plural "aphthae") is a non specific term that refers to an ulcer