Macroglossia - Alegent Health serving eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa

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Throat anatomy

Macroglossia

Information:

Macroglossia is a disorder in which the tongue is larger than normal. It is usually enlarged because of an increase in the amount of tissue, rather than because of an external growth like a tumor.

This condition can be seen in certain inherited or congenital disorders including:

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (low blood sugar in a newborn with macroglossia and other enlarged organs)
Congenital hypotyhroidism (newborn with decreased or, rarely, no thyroid hormone production)
Down's syndrome
Primary amyloidosis
Acromegaly (excess growth hormone)

Review Date: 1/18/2004
Reviewed By: Jacqueline A. Hart, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Newton, Ma., and Senior Medical Editor, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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