Deep lines in tongue
While visiting her family physician (FP) for a Pap smear, a 29-year-old woman admitted that she was worried about the appearance of her tongue. She recently noticed deep lines in her tongue and was wondering if she had a disease. Upon further questioning, the patient said she may have always had these lines in her tongue, but wasn’t certain. She had no symptoms.
What's your diagnosis?
The FP recognized that the patient had a fissured tongue, and it was likely that she’d had these fissures since birth or early childhood. The FP reassured the patient that the condition has no negative health consequences.
Photos and text for Photo Rounds Friday courtesy of Richard P. Usatine, MD. This case was adapted from: Valdez E, Usatine R, Gonsalves W. Geographic tongue. In: Usatine R, Smith M, Mayeaux EJ, et al, eds. Color Atlas of Family Medicine. 2nd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2013:232-235.
To learn more about the Color Atlas of Family Medicine, see: https://www.amazon.com/Color-Family-Medicine-Richard-Usatine/dp/0071769641/
You can now get the second edition of the Color Atlas of Family Medicine as an app by clicking this link: https://usatinemedia.com/