A variety of clinical conditions may cause reddening of the tongue, such as the more common median rhomboid tongue infection, which typically presents as an approximately oval or rhomboid shaped lesion across the entire dorsum of the tongue, anterior to the zigzag border groove on the dorsum of the tongue. Similarly scarlet fever may cause redness of the entire tongue, although it is the overall enlargement and bright redness of all the tongue, also known as red prune tongue. There is also the case of hemangiomas and lymphangiomas of the tongue, which may also cause redness of the tongue. Finally, there is the proliferative erythema of the tongue, which occurs most often on the marginal part of the tongue and may sometimes be accompanied by ulcers, which must be taken care of. This is because erythema of the tongue is definitely a precancerous lesion and should be removed as soon as possible once detected.