Angiomyoma of the tongue: report of a case with ultrastructural study.

Abstract

A rare case of oral angiomyoma found in the tongue was presented. The patient was a 53-year-old Japanese male who had noticed a nodular mass in the apex of his tongue for nearly 20 years. The nodular mass was well circumscribed, elastic-hard in consistency, and 8mm in diameter. The covering mucosa was normal in appearance.

Histological findings of the surgically excised specimen corresponded to the venous type of angiomyoma. A review of the literature yielded only two cases of oral angiomyoma occurred in the tongue, including the present one, in Japan. An ultrastructural examination revealed that immature cells as well as intermediate cells between the immature cells and the myoma cells were frequently found throughout the lesion. Such finding suggests that angiomyoma originates from undifferentiated mesenchymal cells.