Framing
- Ulceration (a break in epithelial/mucosal continuity extending beyond the superficial layers) occurs across genital, oral, and cutaneous (leg ulcer) sites, each with a distinct differential shaped by the site's characteristic infective, inflammatory, vascular, and malignant causes
- A unifying principle across all ulcer sites: duration and healing trajectory are central to risk-stratifying between a self-limiting/infective cause and one requiring biopsy to exclude malignancy
What sits under this topic
- See for the sexually transmitted and inflammatory causes of genital ulceration (HSV, syphilis, Behcet)
- See for the causes and red flags of oral ulceration (recurrent aphthous stomatitis, malignancy risk beyond 3 weeks, systemic disease associations)
- See leg/venous ulcer content under vascular and dermatology notes for chronic lower-limb ulceration
2 of 2 sections written · drafted 2026-09-14