Vogel J E, Mulliken J B, Kaban L B
Plast Reconstr Surg. 1986 Dec;78(6):715-23.
In studying macroglossia, no one has described normal tongue size or applied direct measurement to the pathologically enlarged tongue. Since macroglossia is primarily a condition that requires treatment on a symptomatic basis, definition of the problem in clinical terms is the most useful form for the practitioner. Based on published reports and our clinical experience, a classification scheme for macroglossia has been formulated. The concept of true macroglossia and relative macroglossia form a framework that categorizes acquired and congenital forms of tongue enlargement. True macroglossia exists when histologic abnormalities correlate with the clinical findings of tongue enlargement. Vascular malformations, muscular enlargement, and tumors are the most common forms of true macroglossia. Relative macroglossia includes those cases of apparent tongue enlargement in which the histology does not provide a pathologic explanation. Down's syndrome is a commonly quoted cause for tongue enlargement and is a form of relative macroglossia. The development of this classification system establishes an approach and common terminology on which therapy, research, and communication can be based.
在研究巨舌症时，没有人描述过正常舌头的大小，也没有人对病理性增大的舌头进行过直接测量。由于巨舌症主要是一种需要对症治疗的病症，从临床角度对该问题进行定义对从业者来说是最有用的形式。基于已发表的报告和我们的临床经验，制定了一种巨舌症的分类方案。真性巨舌症和相对性巨舌症的概念构成了一个框架，对后天性和先天性舌体增大的形式进行分类。当组织学异常与舌体增大的临床发现相关时，真性巨舌症就存在。血管畸形、肌肉增大和肿瘤是真性巨舌症最常见的形式。相对性巨舌症包括那些组织学无法提供病理学解释的明显舌体增大的病例。唐氏综合征是导致舌体增大的常见原因，是相对性巨舌症的一种形式。这个分类系统的建立确立了一种方法和通用术语，治疗、研究和交流都可以以此为基础。
