Tongue necrosis in temporal arteritis.

Temporal arteritis, or cranial arteritis, is a granulomatous arteritis with the common presenting manifestations of headache and visual loss. The disease is generally limited to elderly individuals; its pathogenesis is unknown, but may be of an immunological nature. Although otolaryngologic manifestations of the disease are common, few reports have been published. Visual loss is one of the most serious complications. Tongue necrosis has been reported in only 23 cases. We report a case of tongue necrosis and partial visual field loss in a patient with temporal arteritis. These complications were probably released by ergotamine tartrate administered because of migrainoid headache. This particular complication has been described only once previously.