Tongue Abnormalities - Cleft tongue

Cleft tongue

Cleft tongue is a condition where the tongue has a cleft running right across it horizontally or vertically, although reported cases have had vertical clefts.

Complete clefting is extremely rare, and occurs as a result of lack of developmental forces to push both halves of the tongue towards each other. Partial clefting presents as a deep groove in the middle of the tongue and is a common feature in the oro-facial-digital syndrome. Cleft tongue is of little importance other than causing difficulty in eating as food gets stuck in the cleft.