Figure 7.

Whole-section histological scanning images of human (A) and porcine (B) oral mucosa specimens exposed to high concentrations of resinous monomers, which were previously scanned with the 3D X-ray μCT (Figure 6). The human mucosa exhibited severely altered cell morphology and cell damage due to extensive vacuolation in the upper two-thirds of the epithelium (a1). Similar, though less pronounced (covering only half of the epithelium), lesions were observed in the porcine epithelium (b1). In contrast, the underlying lamina propria was not substantially affected in either the human or porcine mucosa (a2,b2, respectively), and there were no significant alterations in collagen band density or tissue disruption.