PARALYSIS OF THE TONGUE. GLOSSOPLEGIA.
Causes: Nervous lesions—central or peripheral, parasitic, inflammatory, infectious, traumatic or degenerative. Symptoms: unilateral and bilateral. Treatment: remove cause; use nerve stimulants, embrocations, blisters, frictions, galvanism, suspension of tongue.
Paralysis of the tongue depends on a lesion of the medulla oblongata, or of the 7th or 12th cranial nerve. The central lesions may be connected with cœnurus or other parasites in the brain, hydrocephalus, meningitis, cerebro spinal meningitis, infectious pneumonia, abscess (strangles), and tumors. The distal or nerve lesions may be due to neuroma, tumors, traumas, lacerations, bruises, or violent distension of the tongue. Parotitis, abscess of the guttural pouch and tubercle may be added as occasional causes. As direct traumatic injuries those caused by wearing a poke by a habitual fence-breaker, excessive dragging on the tongue in operations on the mouth, and compression of the tongue by a loop of rope passed over it, require mention.
Symptoms. In unilateral paralysis the affected half of the tongue remains soft and flaccid and is liable to be crushed between the teeth, the active muscles of the opposite half pushing the organ over to the paralyzed side. In bilateral paralysis the tongue hangs out of the mouth, and being crushed and torn by the teeth, it swells up, and may even become gangrenous.
Treatment. Will vary according to the cause. After removal of the central or nervous lesions, the remaining functional paralysis may be treated by strychnia, internally or hypodermically, by frictions or stimulating embrocations to the intermaxillary region, or by electricity. The tongue must be suspended in a sling to prevent œdema, inflammation and wounds by the teeth. In bad cases of bilateral traumatic glossoplegia in meat producing animals it has been advised to have the subject butchered.