Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with one-sided tongue muscle spasms and twitching
By Santifort, K M & Glass, E N·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2025·IVC Evidensia Small Animal Referral Hospital Arnhem, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hemilingual tetany ("hemilingual spasm") in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old Border Collie was brought in because of unusual tongue movements, specifically a resting contraction on the right side that caused the tongue to curve. This condition, known as hemilingual tetany (or hemilingual spasm), was observed to improve during sedation for anesthesia. Despite thorough imaging tests, no underlying issues were found in the tongue muscles or brain. Since the symptoms resolved with sedation and no treatment was needed, the dog was monitored without further intervention.
People also search for: dog tongue spasm · Border Collie muscle contraction · hemilingual tetany treatment · dog neurological disorder symptoms
Abstract
Hemilingual atrophy, often secondary to lesions (e.g. neoplasia) affecting the hypoglossal nerve ipsilaterally, is the only unilateral tongue muscle-related neurological disorder reported in dogs. Hemilingual spasm is a descriptive term used in the human medical literature that refers to a disorder of involuntary, unilateral contractions in tongue musculature. We report a 5-year-old Border collie with hemilingual tetany ("hemilingual spasm"). Clinical examination revealed a resting unilateral contraction of the tongue on the right side with a resultant curvature of the tongue of variable degree with some intermittent incomplete relaxation. These signs disappeared during premedication and induction phases of anaesthesia (dexmedetomidine, butorphanol and propofol). Electromyography of the tongue muscles revealed fasciculation potentials on the right side of the tongue in association with the depth of sedation. CT and two MRI studies did not reveal abnormalities of the tongue musculature, brain or hypoglossal nerves. Hemilingual tetany was diagnosed. No treatment was initiated.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40534474/