Final answer:
Gingival refers to aspects concerning the gums, and it is the soft tissue surrounding the teeth and covering the sockets of the maxilla and mandible.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term gingival refers to anything related to the gums within the oral cavity. The gingivae, commonly called the gums, are the soft tissues in the mouth that surround the teeth and cover the alveolar processes (sockets) of the maxilla and the mandible. When answering multiple-choice questions related to the gingival area, one would select 'pertaining to the gum' as the correct answer, which is option 'b'.