Histoquantitative study of inflamed tongue mucosa

— A quantitative, semiautomatic analysis of hislologic features of the specific inflammatory changes occurring on the dorsum of human tongue was made for 37 tongues. Well-documented hislologic differences belween clinically normal appearing tongue (control), atrophic, geographic and fissured tongue were shown quantitatively. The epithelium of atrophic tongue was thinner compared to the controls. Reduction of the thickness was due to the shortened or totally missing rete pegs. Epithelium of geographic and fissured longue showed irregular rete pegs. In fissured tongue heavy inflammation seemed to shorten the rete pegs. In atrophic tongue the connective tissue was thicker compared to the controls. This could be due to mild, chronic inflammation causing loose connective tissue described in atrophic tongue. Muscle cells of geographic tongue appeared lo be as in the controls, whereas in atrophic and fissured tongue the uppermost muscle cells were small and separated compared to the controls.