Oral mucosal bacillary epithelioid angiomatosis in a patient with AIDS associated with rapid alveolar bone loss: case report

Oral manifestations of bacillary epithelioid angiomatosis have been described in the literature, but without histopathologic evidence confirming the presence of the etiologic bacilli. The clinical and histopathologic similarities between bacillary epithelioid angiomatosis and Kaposi's sarcoma may have contributed to confusion in diagnosis and treatment of the latter. Furthermore, inclusion of bacillary epithelioid angiomatosis in the differential diagnosis of proliferative vascular lesions may help to clarify the etiology, pathology and epidemiology of these lesions. This article is the first report of the intraoral manifestation of bacillary epithelioid angiomatosis with histopathologic documentation of the causative pathogen.