Abstract
A rare case of leiomyoma in the pharyngeal portion of the tongue in a 65-years-old female is reported. The patient complained of bloody sputum and sensation of foreign body in the pharynx. The tumor was walnut-sized and was found to occupy almost the entire pharyngeal space. It was removed surgically by medial pharyngotomy. Histopathological examination revealed a vascular leiomyoma. Neither recurrence nor metastasis was seen one year after the operation.
Two possible origins of leiomyoma are 1) migration of embryonal tissue and 2) leiomatous neoplasm originaing from the wall of a blood vessel, papilla of the tongue or remnants of the thyroglossal duct.
The origin of this tumor was assumed to be either the blood vessel or the thyroglossal duct from the histological findings, site of the tumor and its development.
