Heterotopia Basilingual Thyroid Goiter: A Case Report

Thyroid heterotopia is an abnormal localization of normal thyroid tissue coexisting with a normal organ and of normal localization. It is distinguished from ectopic thyroid and thyroid cancer metastasis. Lingual or sublingual thyroid is defined as the presence of thyroid tissue in the midline at the base of the tongue anywhere between the circumvallate papillae and the epiglottis. The prevalence of lingual thyroid is 1 in 100,000, and it is more common in women, with a female to male ratio ranging from 3:1 to 7:1. Embryologically, the thyroid originates at the foramen cecum, which is located at the junction of the anterior two thirds with the posterior one-third of the tongue, report a case of a goiter on a heterotopic basilingual thyroid tissue causing dysphagia in a 58-year-old woman operated in the ENT department of the CHN in Nouakchott, Mauritania, the thyroid origin of the mass was confirmed by histology.