Dermoscopy of the pigmented fungiform papillae of the tongue

Abstract

This is the report of two patients with pigmented fungiform papillae of the tongue, a benign condition, more frequent in dark skinned patients. We present the dermoscopic findings of this condition, which resembled rose petals.

A clinical analysis of 58 chinese cases of pigmented fungiform papillae of the tongue

“…Koplon and other investigators estimated that PFPT occurs in less than 1 in 20 000 dermatological outpatients in India 9 . Sporadic cases in Japanese, Caucasian, Puerto Rican female, Australian aboriginal, Italian, Russian Jew and Brazilian Gypsy populations are well documented 10–15 …”

Pigmented fungiform lingual papillae: dermoscopic and clinical features

“…11 In 1973, Holzwanger et al 10 examined a random sample of 300 individuals, finding that PFPT had a prevalence of almost 30% in Black women and 25% in Black men. In our review of the literature, we found 116 cases of PFPT in Blacks, 6,[11][12][13][14] 68 cases in Asiatics 7,10 (Chinese, 15 Indian, 3,16 Vietnamese, 17 Korean, 2,18 Japanese 19 and Tai 20 populations), four cases in Hispanics 4,10,12,21 and five cases in Caucasians. 8,10,[22][23][24] In our case series, 50% of patients were Caucasian.…”

“…in 2011. Subsequently, Mukamal et al . noticed that the pigmentation of every single element of PFPT was mainly located on the tips and borders of the tongue, slightly fading towards the centre of the papilla; this was suggestive of a ‘rose petal pattern’.…”

“…Subsequently, Mukamal et al 13 noticed that the pigmentation of every single element of PFPT was mainly located on the tips and borders of the tongue, slightly fading towards the centre of the papilla; this was suggestive of a 'rose petal pattern'. In further reports, the terms cobblestone 5,7,15,20 and rose petal pattern 6,[13][14][15]22 were used to describe respectively the overall and the single aspect of PFPT. In our opinion, these terms are both correct: the cobblestone pattern is a description of the distribution of the pigmented fungiform papillae on the tongue, while the rose petal pattern is a detailed description of the distribution of the pigment in the individual papilla.…”

“…Pigmented fungiform papulae of the tongue (PEPT) is an asymptomatic, not progressive condition, usually appearing during the second and third decades of life. Although the onset in childhood has been postulated, only six cases of paediatric patients, with a mean age of 12.17 years (range [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], have been reported in the literature. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The aim of our study was to describe the clinical and dermoscopic features of PFPT of children and to provide a concise review of the literature.…”