Surgical margins for the extirpation of oral cancer

For three-dimensional tissues, surgical margins can be divided into mucosal margins and deep margins. Mucosal margins are clearer than deep margins because we cannot directly see the deeper boundary of the tumor mass. Deep margins consist of mesenchymal tissue (e.g., muscle and connective tissue) and neurovascular channels and are difficult to delineate, whereas surgical margins can be precisely cut on the mucosa. 3. Margins according to proximity Margins are currently classified as positive, close, or clear, according to their proximity to the tumor mass in the pathological specimen. However, there is no clear distinction among the three. Depending on the definition, positive margins may include the carcinoma in situ but not dysplasia