The Epithelial Papillae of the Mouse Buccal Mucosa

The mouse buccal mucosa was observed with a scanning electron microscope and a light microscope. 1. Many epithelial papillae, termed buccal papillae by Yoshioka and Muto, projecting from the oral surface were observed on the buccal mucosa. The buccal papillae contained connective tissue papillae but no secondary papillae. Their form was classified into the following types; filiform papilla type or wart type, beak type, fiat oval type, and transitional types between these. 2. Buccal papillae were abundant in the posterior and middle parts of the buccal mucosa, but were not seen in the anterior part. The border region (Schumacher)could not be distinguished on the basis of the surface structure of the mouse buccal mucosa. The buccal papillae showed no close relationship to the border region in their distribution. 3. In the closed state of the mouth, the buccal mucosa exhibited rising of the surface, greater thickness of the epithelium and higher connective tissue papillae, but these findings were not remarkable in the opening state. it is therefore questionable histologically whether to distinguish the border region from the buccal mucosa.