{"title":"Morphological features of the human lingual mucosa assessed by line-field confocal optical coherence tomography.","authors":"Yann Lelonge, Julie Chauvel Picard, Asimakis Asimakopoulos, Florian Camy, Jonas Ogen, Stephane Avril, Jean-Luc Perrot","doi":"10.5603/fm.110818","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Line-field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT) is an emerging optical imaging technique combining vertical OCT-like sections with confocal en face imaging at micrometer-scale resolution. The present study aimed to evaluate the ability of LC-OCT to depict the morphological features of healthy human lingual mucosa, including both the mobile tongue and the base of the tongue, under cadaveric and ex vivo conditions.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>A two-phase prospective morphological study was conducted. In the cadaveric phase, two human tongues donated to science were examined after fixation. In the ex vivo phase, twenty-four histologically normal mucosal specimens were obtained from tumor-free surgical margins in fourteen patients undergoing surgery for base-of-tongue squamous cell carcinoma. Vertical and en face LC-OCT images were qualitatively compared with corresponding hematoxylin-eosin-stained histological sections. Epithelial thickness was measured on LC-OCT images by two independent observers, and interobserver agreement was assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Line-field confocal OCT enabled visualization of epithelial stratification, basement membrane delineation, and lamina propria architecture in both lingual regions. Three epithelial layers, superficial, intermediate, and basal, were consistently identified based on reproducible optical patterns. Mean epithelial thickness was significantly greater in the mobile tongue than in the base of the tongue (270.4 ± 16.4 μm vs 182.7 ± 14.9 μm; p < 0.001). Interobserver agreement for epithelial thickness measurements was excellent (Pearson's r = 0.993).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Under cadaveric and ex vivo conditions, LC-OCT provides high-resolution morphological imaging of healthy lingual mucosa with close correspondence to histological architecture. These findings support the value of LC-OCT as a morphological imaging tool for anatomical research of the oral cavity.</p>","PeriodicalId":12251,"journal":{"name":"Folia morphologica","volume":"85 ","pages":"e01726052"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Folia morphologica","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.5603/fm.110818","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ANATOMY & MORPHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Line-field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT) is an emerging optical imaging technique combining vertical OCT-like sections with confocal en face imaging at micrometer-scale resolution. The present study aimed to evaluate the ability of LC-OCT to depict the morphological features of healthy human lingual mucosa, including both the mobile tongue and the base of the tongue, under cadaveric and ex vivo conditions.
Materials and methods: A two-phase prospective morphological study was conducted. In the cadaveric phase, two human tongues donated to science were examined after fixation. In the ex vivo phase, twenty-four histologically normal mucosal specimens were obtained from tumor-free surgical margins in fourteen patients undergoing surgery for base-of-tongue squamous cell carcinoma. Vertical and en face LC-OCT images were qualitatively compared with corresponding hematoxylin-eosin-stained histological sections. Epithelial thickness was measured on LC-OCT images by two independent observers, and interobserver agreement was assessed.
Results: Line-field confocal OCT enabled visualization of epithelial stratification, basement membrane delineation, and lamina propria architecture in both lingual regions. Three epithelial layers, superficial, intermediate, and basal, were consistently identified based on reproducible optical patterns. Mean epithelial thickness was significantly greater in the mobile tongue than in the base of the tongue (270.4 ± 16.4 μm vs 182.7 ± 14.9 μm; p < 0.001). Interobserver agreement for epithelial thickness measurements was excellent (Pearson's r = 0.993).
Conclusions: Under cadaveric and ex vivo conditions, LC-OCT provides high-resolution morphological imaging of healthy lingual mucosa with close correspondence to histological architecture. These findings support the value of LC-OCT as a morphological imaging tool for anatomical research of the oral cavity.
背景：线场共焦光学相干层析成像（LC-OCT）是一种新兴的光学成像技术，将垂直oct样切片与微米级分辨率的共焦面成像相结合。本研究旨在评估LC-OCT在尸体和离体条件下描述健康人舌粘膜形态学特征的能力，包括活动舌和舌底。材料与方法：采用两期前瞻性形态学研究。在尸体阶段，两个捐献给科学的人类舌头在固定后被检查。在离体期，从14例接受舌底鳞状细胞癌手术的患者的无肿瘤手术边缘获得24例组织学正常的粘膜标本。垂直和正面LC-OCT图像与相应的苏木精-伊红染色组织学切片进行定性比较。由两名独立观察者在LC-OCT图像上测量上皮厚度，并评估观察者之间的一致性。结果：线场共聚焦OCT使双侧舌区上皮分层、基底膜划定和固有层结构可视化。三个上皮层，浅表，中间和基础，一致地确定基于可复制的光学模式。舌部上皮细胞的平均厚度（270.4±16.4 μm vs 182.7±14.9 μm, p < 0.001）显著高于舌部。观察者间对上皮厚度测量的一致性非常好（Pearson’s r = 0.993）。结论：在尸体和离体条件下，LC-OCT提供了与组织结构密切对应的健康舌粘膜的高分辨率形态学成像。这些发现支持LC-OCT作为口腔解剖学研究的形态学成像工具的价值。
期刊介绍：
"Folia Morphologica" is an official journal of the Polish Anatomical Society (a Constituent Member of European Federation for Experimental Morphology - EFEM). It contains original articles and reviews on morphology in the broadest sense (descriptive, experimental, and methodological). Papers dealing with practical application of morphological research to clinical problems may also be considered. Full-length papers as well as short research notes can be submitted. Descriptive papers dealing with non-mammals, cannot be accepted for publication with some exception.
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