Medical Dictionary Online

Focal Epithelial Hyperplasia

Hyperplasia of the mucous membrane of the lips, tongue, and less commonly, the buccal mucosa, floor of the mouth, and palate, presenting soft, painless, round to oval sessile papules about 1 to 4 mm in diameter. The condition usually occurs in children and young adults and has familial predilection, lasting for several months, sometimes years, before running its course. A viral etiology is suspected, the isolated organism being usually the human papillomavirus. (Jablonski, Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry; Belshe, Textbook of Human Virology, 2d ed, p954)