Chondroid choristoma of tongue--a rare entity.

Madam, The term “choristoma” is applied to microscopically normal tissues present in an abnormal location. Although it is not neoplastic but a “heterotropic” rest of cells, it produces a tumor like mass. In the upper aerodigestive tract, heterotropic islands of mature hyaline cartilage are mainly seen in the nose and nasopharynx. These ‘cartilaginous choristomas” are however , very rare in the oral cavity and only 25 cases have been reported in the literature. Cartilaginous choristomas must be distinguished from true chondromas as well as from cartilaginous metaplasia occurring underneath ill fitting dentures secondary to chronic inflammation and fibrosis. A thirty seven year old woman from Sukkur presented with a papillomatous gowth at the base of the tongue. The growth was first noticed by the patient about three years back and it was slowly increasing in size. A simple excision was performad and the specimen was sent to us for histopathology. Grossly, it was a polypoid tissue, gray in color and firm in consistency and mearured l.6x1 .3x 0.6cm. Histopathogly revealed overlying stratified squamous epithelium, lobules of mature hyaline cartilage with focal mild nuclear pleomorphism and occasional binucleation. The lobules of hyaline cartilage were surrounded by hyalinised connective tissue (Figure).