Wound repair of the oral mucosa. Immunohistological and 3H-thymidine-autoradiographic observations.

The migratory and proliferative capacity of oral epithelium was studied after induction of subepithelial suction blisters in palatal rat mucosa. FITC-coupled lectins and their affinities to epithelial cells at the wound margin were analyzed by immunfluorescence microscopy.