Double tongue, intraoral anomalies, and cleft palate : Case reports and a discussion of developmental pathology

• Published in: The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal 2000-07, Vol.37 (4), p.410-415
• Main Authors: BRITTO, J. A, RAGOOWANSI, R. H, SOMMERLAD, B. C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Choristoma - congenital; Cleft Palate - complications; Cleft Palate - embryology; Dentistry; Embryonic and Fetal Development; Female; Gingival Neoplasms - congenital; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Male; Mandibular Neoplasms - congenital; Medical sciences; Mouth Abnormalities - complications; Non tumoral diseases; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Palate - embryology; Submandibular Gland - pathology; Tongue - abnormalities; Tongue Diseases - congenital; Upper respiratory tract, upper alimentary tract, paranasal sinuses, salivary glands: diseases, semeiology
• ISSN: 1055-6656; 1545-1569
• DOI: 10.1597/1545-1569(2000)037<0410:DTIAAC>2.3.CO;2

Isolated cleft palate is the most common presentation of the nonsyndromic cleft lip/palate combinations and is multifactorial in etiology. We report two cases of children with clefts of the secondary palate coexistent with double tongue and in either case mandibular epulis or superiorly displaced salivary gland. In each case, the palatal cleft correlated anatomically with the intraoral space-occupying lesion. The ratio of tongue volume to intraoral volume during palatogenesis is discussed with reference to the pathogenesis of cleft palate. These clinical cases propose the model of a unifying sequence of developmental events whereby deformation of palatal shelf elevation results in secondary palatal clefting.