Benign migratory glossitis (BMG) is a disorder defined under various names such as geographic tongue or glossitis areata exfoliativa. It is a condition which primarily affects the dorsal part of the tongue. The disease has a tendency towards remissions and relapses, which may occur in the same or different areas. The clinical presentation of the condition resembles a map. The aim of this paper is to describe the clinical presentation of geographic tongue, as well as presenting the current view on the aetiology of the condition on the basis of contemporary literature and a case study.

Key words: geographic tongue, benign migratory glossitis (BMG), glossitis areata exfoliativa, tongue diseases, glossitis.