The scarcity of sizeable specimens of normal oral mucosa for experimental purposes has hampered research on oral epithelium. Because large specimens of viable @entity1 vaginal mucosa are readily available and because @entity365 are microscopically similar, vaginal mucosa has been used successfully to establish a @entity1 cyst model in experimental animals. The ultrastructure and distribution of keratin filaments in these epithelia are also similar, as is their permeability to water and a number of chemical substances. Therefore, if vaginal mucosa could be substituted for @entity14705 it would expedite research on the epithelium of @entity14705 . To strengthen further the concept that vaginal epithelium could replace buccal epithelium in certain experimental studies, the thickness of these epithelia, their patterns of surface keratinization, the presence or absence of intercellular lipid lamellae and their lipid contents were now compared. Thirty-three specimens of vaginal mucosa from postmenopausal @entity1 and 36 of @entity14705 were investigated. To compare the thickness of the epithelial layers the number of cell layers in sections of 20 vaginal and 20 buccal mucosal specimens were counted in the three thickest and three thinnest regions of each specimen. Surface keratinization was evaluated on sections stained with the Picro-Mallory method. To demonstrate lipid lamellae two vaginal and two @entity14705 specimens were examined electron microscopically after normal fixation and postfixation in @entity69384 . Following solvent extraction of 11 vaginal and 14 @entity14705 , quantitative lipid analyses were performed using thin-layer chromatography. No statistically significant differences were found between the maximum and minimum number of epithelial cell layers. The patterns of surface keratinization and the distribution and appearance of the lipid lamellae in the intercellular spaces were similar. The lipid composition of the two epithelia corresponded, except for the @entity8557 and @entity29434 , which were higher in buccal epithelium. @entity9932 for vaginal epithelium and @entity1674 for buccal epithelium were not determined. Based on structural similarities, a similar lipid composition and earlier findings, it is concluded that vaginal epithelium can be used as a substitute for buccal epithelium in certain in vitro, and possibly for in vivo, studies.

A comparative light-microscopic, electron-microscopic and chemical study of XXXX vaginal and buccal epithelium.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'human'] @entity365 :: ('MESH:D014627', 'Disease') :: ['vaginal and buccal epithelia'] @entity14705 :: ('MESH:D007967', 'Disease') :: ['buccal mucosa', 'buccal epithelia'] @entity1674 :: ('MESH:D014280', 'Chemical') :: ['triglycerides'] @entity69384 :: ('MESH:C027646', 'Chemical') :: ['ruthenium tetroxide'] @entity8557 :: ('MESH:D002788', 'Chemical') :: ['cholesterol esters'] @entity9932 :: ('MESH:D002518', 'Chemical') :: ['Ceramides'] @entity29434 :: ('CHEBI:62941', 'Chemical') :: ['glycosylceramides']
@entity1 :: (9606,Species) :: ['human']
