Abstract
The lugol staining method using dental iodin glycerin was utilized in the oral cavity, and the stain reactions of oral mucosal lesions and the mechanism of the stain reactions were discussed. The results were as follows :
1) In normal oral mucosa, dental iodine glycerin was retained in nonkeratinized epithelium but not in keratinized epithelium.
2) All malignant and dysplastic epithelium showed the lack of staining with iodine.
3) The stain reaction of nonspecific inflammatory lesion was not uniform.
4) All Lugol stain positive epithelium had large glycogen contents, while Lugol negative epithelium had little or no glycogen contents.
5) There was no clear relationship between the degree of keratinization and the Lugol stain reaction.
From the results of this study, it was concluded that all dysplastic and malignant oral mucosal lesions were detected as areas unstained by the Lugol staining method. It was also suggested that the Lugol stain reaction was closely related to the glycogen content of epithelial cells.
