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Q38.2: Macroglossia

You have a congenital defect which involves your tongue being enlarged.

The tongue is mostly made up of muscles. The tongue is important for chewing, swallowing and speaking. It is connected to the back of the throat. There are many taste buds on the surface of the tongue. The taste buds have lots of small nerves, allowing us to perceive taste.

While developing in the womb, many different types of tissue develop in the body. The organs and body parts develop out of the various types of tissue. If tissue fails to develop properly, defects can occur.

If the tongue does not develop properly it may be enlarged in some places or as a whole. This can cause problems when swallowing or talking. Breathing problems may occur.

Additional indicator

On medical documents, the ICD code is often appended by letters that indicate the diagnostic certainty or the affected side of the body.

  • G: Confirmed diagnosis
  • V: Tentative diagnosis
  • Z: Condition after
  • A: Excluded diagnosis
  • L: Left
  • R: Right
  • B: Both sides

Further information

Note

This information is not intended for self-diagnosis and does not replace professional medical advice from a doctor. If you find an ICD code on a personal medical document, please also note the additional indicator used for diagnostic confidence.
Your doctor will assist you with any health-related questions and explain the ICD diagnosis code to you in a direct consultation if necessary.

Source

Provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).