Considerations for Erythema Nodosum Leprosum, with Emphasis on Its Oral Manifestations

Abstract

Leprosy is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, transmitted from person to person through contact among susceptible untreated patients. It presents a broad clinical spectrum which is related to the host's ability to mount a specific immune response. The lesions caused by the proliferation of Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) were significantly reduced in recent years with the early detection of new cases. Because they are less evident and/or study, maxillofacial injuries and the oral mucosa may reveal important details about the transmissibility and immunopathogenesis of leprosy. This article was based on a literature to verify an interrelation between oral manifestations in virchowian patients and immuno-pathological factors. Association between the infection of oral mucosa and some pathological findings as well as the participation of the local immune response in protection against the disease are research topics still not fully exploited.