Intramuscular Hemangioma of the Tongue: Imaging Features of a Rare Entity
Abstract
Intramuscular hemangioma (IMH) is a rare benign vascular tumor arising from skeletal muscle. Head and neck involvement is rare, with tongue muscles being extremely rare. IMHs present as a slow-growing mass. They are painless; however, sometimes, they may cause speech difficulties or bleeding. Imaging is essential for diagnosis and surgical planning. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides superior soft tissue characterization. This is a case report of a 25-year-old woman with a complaint of a painless swelling over the dorsum of the tongue. MRI revealed a well-circumscribed, lobulated lesion appearing hyperintense on T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), with few flow voids, showing intense post-contrast enhancement. Complete transoral excision was performed, and histopathology confirmed the lesion as an intramuscular cavernous hemangioma. This case focuses on the importance of multimodality imaging and radio-pathological correlation in the diagnosis and management of rare intramuscular tongue hemangiomas.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Vascular Malformations and Hemangiomas
Soft tissue tumors and treatment
Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Cureus
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- e101540–e101540
- Publication date
- 14 January 2026
- Language
- EN