Dermatologists are frequently called on to consider morbid processes of the oral cavity. Tumors of the gum offer special difficulties. Histologic study reveals the many possibilities which must be taken into consideration when a tumor is seen.
The confused state of the information on this subject furnishes the main reason for this investigation. We found classification as to age, location and type extremely variable, the confusion of the classification according to type being present only because there is as yet no one standard of pathologic nomenclature for the interpretation of these neoplasms. The reports of individual cases have not been extensive enough to justify drawing definite conclusions.
DEFINITION
Epulis, according to Dorland,1 is derived from the Greek [unk] (on) and [unk] (gum). It was first used by Virchow in a topographic sense, denoting any tumor on the gum. The term "tumor" is a clinical one and refers to