Images in Clinical Medicine
Geographic Tongue
N Engl J Med 2009; 361:e44November 12, 2009
- Article
A 61-year-old man was referred for treatment of painless white lesions on his tongue that had appeared 1 month earlier. He had been treated with topical and systemic antifungal drugs for presumed oral candidiasis, but the lesions remained unchanged. The patient reported that a similar episode 1 year earlier had resolved spontaneously. Lingual examination revealed multiple erythematous patches with an annular, well-demarcated white border. A diagnosis of geographic tongue was made. Geographic tongue (benign migratory glossitis) is a benign inflammatory condition that affects approximately 2% of the world's population. The classic manifestation is a maplike distribution of erythema caused by atrophy of the filiform papillae of the tongue, surrounded by a white hyperkeratotic rim. The lesions typically resolve spontaneously without sequelae but can develop quickly in other areas of the tongue.
Emili Masferrer, M.D.
Anna Jucgla, M.D.
Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain
emilimasferreriniubo@gmail.com - Citing Articles (1)
Citing Articles
1
Iran Vieira, Ângela Fernandes, José Miguel Amenabar Céspedes, Maria Ângela Naval Machado, João Armando Brancher, Antonio Adilson Soares de Lima. (2011) Taste evaluation in adolescents and pediatric patients with benign migratory glossitis. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 75:10, 1230-1233
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