Cysticercosis is caused by the larval stage of Taenia Solium. Taenia solium has a complex 2-host life cycle. It is a hermaphrodite cestode that inhabits the human small intestine of those individuals who have ingested raw or inadequately cooked pork infected with their viable larvae (cysticerci). Although oral involvement by cysticercosis is common in swine, this location is rare in humans. We present a case of cysticercosis on the tongue of a 25 year old Indian male. Introduction Cysticercosis is caused by the larval stage of Taenia Solium. Taenia solium has a complex 2-host life cycle. It is a hermaphrodite cestode that inhabits the human small intestine of those individuals who have ingested raw or inadequately cooked pork infected with their viable larvae (cysticerci). The scolex of the larva evaginates from the cyst inside the small intestine and attaches to the bowel wall. After 3 months, the adult tapeworm develops within its human definitive host, producing a condition known as taeniasis and thereafter begins forming proglottids, which are frequently detached from the distal end of the worm and are excreted in the feces. Each proglottid contains 50,000 to 60,000 fertile eggs, which can remain viable for a long time in water, soil, and vegetation. Cysticercosis develops when these eggs are ingested by humans and pigs (intermediate host), and oncospheres (embryos) are liberated by the action of gastric acid and intestinal fluids and actively cross the bowel wall, enter the blood stream and infest various other tissues and organs where they develop into larval vesicles or cysticerci. In humans, this potentially fatal parasitic disease mainly occurs as a result of the ingestion of contaminated food or polluted drinking water, but it may also develop by fecal-oral contamination in tapeworm carriers.1 Although the disease is more common in endemic areas like Latin America, Asia, Africa and Easter Europe, its incidence is also increasing in developed countries as a result of migration of infected persons and frequent travel to and from endemic areas.2 In humans, cysticerci are most commonly located within the central nervous system (CNS), where it produces a pleomorphic clinical disorder known as neurocysticercosis (NCC), but it may also localize primarily in a variety of tissues, including muscle, heart, eyes, and skin. Although oral involvement by cysticercosis is common in swine, this location is rare in humans.1,3 We hereby present a case of cysticercosis on the tongue of an Indian male. Case Report A 25 year old male presented with a swelling on the right lateral border of the tongue (Figure 1). During anamnesis, the patient reported that the lesion was present since six months with no associated pain. Intra oral examination revealed that the lesion was spherical in shape, 1x 1 cm in size, firm, compressible, smooth surfaced and movable with the overlying tissue. A clinical differential diagnosis of mucocele, sialocyst, lymphangioma and minor salivary gland tumour was given. The lesion was aspirated and surgically excised under local anaesthesia.
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