They are two of
the more bizarre findings in medicine, with two of the strangest names, and
they both affect the tongue. If you think about it, we rarely talk about
the tongue, but the terms geographic tongue and hairy tongue are actual medical
terms. Believe it or not, geographic tongue affects as many as 1 out of
10 people. In a geographic tongue, part of the tongue becomes flat and
smooth which makes it stand out when compared to the rest of the tongue with
raised borders. In hairy tongue, an accumulation of tissue called keratin
develops on the tongue and that leads to elongated debris.
