title: [Comparative study on normal tongue manifestation in patients with primary liver cancer and healthy adults].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To find out some microscopically visible morphological differences in normal tongue manifestation between patients with primary liver cancer and healthy adults, and provide some beneficial evidences for microcosmic syndrome differentiation of tongue inspection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Microcirculations of the tongue tip, which represented the macroscopical normal tongue manifestation, were observed under an optical microscope in patients with primary liver cancer and healthy adults. Exfoliated cells from tongue coating were examined by hematoxylin-eosin staining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of normal tongue manifestation was larger in healthy adults (38.89%) than that in patients with primary liver cancer (2.32%). The total score of microcirculation of tongue tip and the maturation index of exfoliated cells from tongue coating were both higher in patients with primary liver cancer than those in healthy adults with normal tongue manifestation (P<0.01, P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Normal tongue manifestation, which is macroscopically visible, can be observed in both patients with primary liver cancer and healthy adults, but there exists obvious difference in microcosmic view.
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Zhe
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Xiao-Qiang
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jing-Dong
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Rong-Zheng
authors.initials: RZ
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Chang-Quan
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Ling
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D014059:Tongue / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology*