A giant teratoma of the tongue.

Teratoma of the tongue is an extremely rare tumour of the oral cavity, which is composed of ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm with differentiation to identifiable tissues and organs. We described a female neonate with a giant teratoma of the tongue and an incomplete cleft palate. The tumour was attached to 1/3 right anterior of her tongue and its largest diameter was 13 cm. Histopathologically, it consisted of stratified squamous epithelium on the surface, and ciliated prismatic epithelium, cartilage and neuroglial tissue. Two years after excision there was no sign of recurrence. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.