Report of a lady who used her tongue to good medical effect

A new medical report suggests this limerick:

A lady, by using her tongue,

Distinguished (herself!) from among

The medical range

Of things that are strange,

Swollen, or sunken, or hung.

The report is:

“Using the tongue to palpate a lesion in the postnasal space: a unique case of self-diagnosis,” Nora Haloob, Robert Nash, BMJ Case Reports, 2013. The authors, at Lister Hospital, Stevenage, and at the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, London, UK, write:

“This 64-year-old lady presented to ear, nose and throat department with a history of left-sided nasal blockage and a lesion in her postnasal space which was palpable by her tongue. In figure 1, the patient demonstrates how she was able to self-diagnose the cause of her symptoms, and therefore prompting a general practitioner referral, by manoeuvring the tip of her tongue to fit into the postnasal space…. Clinicians should never underestimate the value of a patient’s input in formulating a diagnosis.”

Detail from the report: