Tongue Affections Tongue: The most versatile organ in the oral cavity. It is responsible for food prehension, water lapping, sucking, mastication, tasting, swallowing, grooming, thermoregulation, and vocalization. These functions require precise motor control by skeletal muscle.

Disorders of the tongue 1)Congenital disorders: Tongue malformations such as macroglossia, microglossia, and tongue deviations are rare in dogs and cats. Ankyloglossia is a congenital disorder in which the lingual frenulum is abnormally short and thickened, restricting movement (in Anatolian shepherd dogs breed). Affected dogs have difficulty suckling, licking, swallowing, and vocalizing, resulting in stunted growth, ptyalism, and difficulty eating.

Disorders of the tongue 2)Infectious disorders: It may be occurs by Virus infections like FMD and blue tongue in cattle and sheep or by Actinobacillus lignieresi infection (wooden tongue) in cattle and rare in horses. The infectious diseases in dogs and cats is a rare, but lingual abscesses in dog may result from penetrating injury through the oral mucosa, they caused by E. coli, Pasteurella multocida, and an unidentified gram-negative cocci.

Disorders of the tongue Treatment consists of injections of penicillin- streptomycin combined with sodium iodide crystals 5-10g in feed daily for 2 weeks or 10% sodium iodide solution IV for 3 day. In some cases surgical operation is necessary. Trauma: the spiny vegetation (fine thorns) or foreign objects sometimes cause penetrating injuries to the tongue in all species. The street accidents, sharp tooth fragments, and burns cause laceration wounds. Treatment is sutured them under general anesthesia. The conditions of severe mutilation, the amputation are work well in horses, pigs, and also in sheep. But amputation in cattle must be avoided because the loss of the prehensile function of the tongue.

Disorders of the tongue Paralysis of the tongue (Glossoplegia): the tongue paralysis may be peripheral or central in origin; it is the result of meningitis, hydrocephalus, or some other the brain lesion. If the hypoglossal nerve is paralyzed the tongue shows on one side of the mouth called unilateral paralysis (monoplegia). In bilateral paralysis (diplegia) the whole tongue is flaccid, hangs out, and protruding from the mouth. It is treated in generally with Nux vomica and potassium iodide. If this treatment dose not response, the amputation will be necessary in the case of diplegia.

Disorders of the tongue Neoplasia and Hyperplastic Lesions: the most common malignant oral tumors in dogs are malignant melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma followed by fibrosarcoma. Gingiva is the most common site for oral tumors in the dog followed by the tonsils and lips. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for approximately 70-80% of all oral tumors in cats followed by fibrosarcoma. The gingiva and tongue are the most frequent locations for oral tumors in the cats.