Three Cases of 'Morsicatio Labiorum'

Morsicatio labiorum is a form of tissue alteration caused by self-induced injury, mostly occurring on the lips, and is considered to be a rarely encountered mucocutaneous disorder. Clinically, it is a macerated grey-white patch and plaque of the mucosa caused by external stimuli (self-induced injury) such as habitual biting, chewing, or sucking of the lip. It is often confused with other dermatological disorders involving the oral mucosa, which can lead to a misdiagnosis. We herein report three cases of morsicatio labiorum; two cases were misdiagnosed as exfoliative cheilitis at the time of the first visit.

Morsicatio Labiorum / 대한피부과학회지

Morsicatio is a condition caused by chronic irritation of the tongue (morsicatio linguarum), buccal (morsicatio buccarum) or labial mucosa (morsicatio labiorum). The condition shows a macerated, grey-white lesion of mucosa where bacterial colonies form and is caused by continuous biting, chewing and sucking of the cheeks or lips. We herein report a case of morsicatio labiorum which occurred in a woman. This is a rarely encountered mucocutaneous disorder, and has never before been reported in the Korean dermatological literature.