title: Heterotopic gastric mucosa of the tongue and the oesophagus.
abstract: A case of gastric heterotopia of the tongue and one of heterotopic gastric mucosa of the oesophagus are described. From a comprehensive review of the world literature it appears that the present case of lingual gastric heterotopia is only the eighth so far reported and the first occurring in a woman. The site of the polypoid formation medially in the body of the tongue and its presence since birth indicate a congenital malformation. As to the observation of heterotopic gastric mucosa in the oesophagus, it is worth noting that the aberrant tissue was located in a wide area between two sites of squamous carcinoma of the oesophagus. Primary adenocarcinoma of the upper third of the oesophagus is extremely rare and its histogenesis becomes even more controversial when consideration is given to some of the features of the case presented. In particular, the hypothesis that adenocarcinoma may arise from heterotopic gastric epithelium is doubtful and does not explain the origin of all adenocarcinomas in the upper third of the oesophagus. The assumption that it may arise from oesophageal glands and/or from tracheobranchial rests remains well-founded.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002828:Choristoma / Q000473:pathology*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014059:Tongue / Q000196:embryology; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*