Lingual papillae depapillating oral conditions include geographic tongue, median rhomboid glossitis and other types of glossitis. The term glossitis, particularly "atrophic glossitis" is often used synonymously with depapillation. Where the entire dorsal surface of the tongue has lost its papillae, this is sometimes termed "bald tongue". Nutritional deficiencies of iron, folic acid, and B vitamins may cause depapillation of the tongue. Papillitis refers to inflammation of the papillae, and sometimes the term hypertrophy is used interchangeably. In foliate papillitis the foliate papillae appear swollen. This may occur due to mechanical irritation, or as a reaction to an upper respiratory tract infection. Other
Inflammation is considered as a mechanism of innate immunity, as compared to adaptive immunity, which is specific for each pathogen. Too little inflammation could lead to progressive tissue destruction by the harmful stimulus (e.g. bacteria) and compromise the survival of the organism. In contrast, chronic inflammation may lead to a host of diseases, such as hay fever, periodontitis, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and even cancer (e.g., gallbladder carcinoma). Inflammation is therefore normally closely regulated by the body. Inflammation can be classified as either "acute" or "chronic". Acute inflammation is the initial response of the body to harmful stimuli and is achieved by