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Not to be confused with angiokeratoma of Fordyce or Fox-Fordyce disease
Ref2242ed to visible sebaceous glands that are present in most individuals.
They appear on the genitals and/or on the face and in the mouth.
Appear as small, painless, raised, pale, red or white spots or bumps 1 to 3 mm in diameter.
May appear on the scrotum, shaft of the penis or on the labia, as well as the inner surface and vermilion border of the lips of the face.
Not associated with any disease or illness.
Not infectious but rather they represent a natural occurrence on the body.
No treatment is required, unless the individual has cosmetic concerns.
Fordyce spots are more visible when the skin of the shaft of the penis is stretched, and may only be noticeable during an erection.
Spots can also appear on the skin of the scrotum.
Oral Fordyce granules appear as rice-like granules, white or yellow-white in color.
Painless papules about 1–3 mm in greatest dimension.
Most common site is along the line between the vermilion border and the oral mucosa of the upper lip, or on the buccal mucosa, often bilaterally.
May occur on the mandibular retromolar pad and tonsillar areas.
Any oral surface may be involved.
Some patients will have hundreds of lesions while most have only one or two.
Rarely, several adjacent glands will coalesce into a larger cauliflower-like cluster similar to sebaceous hyperplasia of the skin.
In some with Fordyce spots, the glands express a thick, chalky discharge when squeezed.
Normally, sebaceous glands are only found in association with a hair follicle.
Sebaceous glands are more obvious in people with greasy skin, with some rheumatic disorders, and in Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer.
In Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer the most common site for Fordyce spots is the lower gingiva and vestibular mucosa.
Oral Fordyce granules are readily diagnosed clinically.
Oral Fordyce granules are often seen as incidental findings of mucosal biopsies of the buccal, labial and retromolar mucosa.
Fordyce granules are similar to normal sebaceous glands of the skin but lack hair follicles.
Fordyce granules almost always lack a ductal communication with the surface.
The glands are located just beneath the overlying epithelium and often produce a an elevation of the epithelium.
Fordyce spots are completely benign.
Require no treatment.
Often their presence is considered normal anatomic variance rather than a true medical condition and is seen in the majority of adults.
It is estimated about 80% of people have oral Fordyce spots, but seldom are found in large numbers.
They are not usually visible in children, and tend to appear at about age 3.
Lesions increase during puberty and become more obvious in later adulthood.
More prominent in males.