The word Ulcer comes from the Latin word ulcus, ulceris (sore, raw wound). It is an open lesion in which there is a gradual loss of substance due to the destruction and death of part of the skin or mucous membranes, and of the underlying tissue, which forms a small crater. In general, an ulcer is unlikely to heal, is often accompanied by inflammation and sometimes infection. Ulcers take on many types and shapes. You have the aphthous ulcer, which is a tiny vesicle that occurs in the membrane that lines the oral cavity, on the lower surface of the tongue, on the gums and the soft palate.When there are numerous ulcers, they can join and grow larger. The pain they produce makes it difficult to eat and speak.
A mouth ulcer affects the female gender more than the male gender. These ulcerations tend to heal spontaneously and cause few discomfort, except for discomfort in the mouth. The pressure ulcer is the ulcer of the skin, usually seen in the buttocks, spine, sides of the knees and elbows. The prolonged pressure of the weight of the body destroys the skin in these regions, this skin lesion occurs mostly in the elderly and immobile patients. In this type of ulceration, the person's skin first becomes tender, then becomes inflamed and changes color, from red to blue-gray, before breaking down and forming an ulcer. These ulcers heal slowly.
Finally, there is the peptic or gastroduodenal ulcer, it is an ulcer that develops in the stomach (gastric) or the small intestine (duodenum). This ulcer is a raw, inflamed crater in which the lining mucous membrane appears to have been perforated. The direct cause of peptic ulcer is the destruction of the gastric or intestinal mucosa by hydrochloric acid and an enzyme that breaks down proteins, called pepsin (hence the name of peptic), these are usually present in the digestive juices of the stomach. Helicobacter pylori infection is believed to play an important role in the development of ulcers in the stomach or duodenum.
However, a number of factors set the stage for ulcers. Certain medications, such as aspirin, and emotional tension, accompanied by anxiety, alter both the production of acid and mucosa. Coffee, tea, mate, soft drinks increase the production of acid that favors the formation of ulcers. Tobacco use also increases gastric ulcers.
