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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffSmall bumps called papillae normally cover your tongue's upper surface. Geographic tongue results from the loss of papillae on some parts of your tongue. But why your tongue loses papillae isn't known. The condition tends to run in families, so genetics may play a role.
References
- Shulman JD, et al. Prevalence and risk factors associated with geographic tongue among U.S. adults. Oral Diseases. 2006;12:381-386.
- Assimakopoulos D, et al. Benign migratory glossitis or geographic tongue: An enigmatic oral lesion. American Journal of Medicine. 2002;113:751-755.
- Jainkittivong A, et al. Geographic tongue: Clinical characteristics of 188 cases. The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice. 2005;6(1):123-135.
- Gonsalves W, et al. Common oral lesions: Part I. Superficial mucosal lesions. American Family Physician. 2007;75:501-507.
