Objective: To find out some microscopically visible morphological differences in normal tongue manifestation between patients with primary liver cancer and healthy adults, and provide some beneficial evidences for microcosmic syndrome differentiation of tongue inspection.
Methods: Microcirculations of the tongue tip, which represented the macroscopical normal tongue manifestation, were observed under an optical microscope in patients with primary liver cancer and healthy adults. Exfoliated cells from tongue coating were examined by hematoxylin-eosin staining.
Results: The proportion of normal tongue manifestation was larger in healthy adults (38.89%) than that in patients with primary liver cancer (2.32%). The total score of microcirculation of tongue tip and the maturation index of exfoliated cells from tongue coating were both higher in patients with primary liver cancer than those in healthy adults with normal tongue manifestation (P<0.01, P<0.05).
Conclusion: Normal tongue manifestation, which is macroscopically visible, can be observed in both patients with primary liver cancer and healthy adults, but there exists obvious difference in microcosmic view.