The strawberry tongue: What, how and where?

ABSTRACT

Morphological alteration of the dorsum of the tongue is seen in many disorders. These include alteration in color such as pallor and redness and surface alterations, giving rise to “balding,” “geographic tongue,” and the “strawberry tongue.” Iron deficiency anemia and vitamin B12/folic acid deficiency are the causes of balding/pallor and hyperemia (beefy red glossitis), respectively. Geographic tongue refers to a “map-like” appearance of the tongue seen in a host of disorders such as psoriasis and Reiter's disease. Strawberry tongue refers to the characteristic appearance of the tongue seen in certain disorders where it resembles the skin of a strawberry.