中文摘要：

舌象是中医临床辨证论治的重要依据,舌苔是舌象重要组成部分。舌苔形成和变化的生理病理机制是一个重要的科学问题。近年来的研究表明,在舌苔形成过程中除了凋亡相关的基因,表皮生长因子（Epidermal Growth Factor,EGF）同样发挥着重要的作用。本文从EGF影响舌苔形成的机制角度做一综述,以期为今后的研究提供思路与参考。

英文摘要：

As an important part of the tongue image,tongue coating is a significant basis for the TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment. So the physiological and pathological mechanism of the formation and change of tongue coating is an important scientific problem. In recent years,researches indicate that in addition to apoptosis related genes,epidermal growth factor（ EGF） also plays an important role on the formation process of tongue coating. This article tries to make a summary of relative study in order to provide foundation and reference for further research on the mechanism of EGF influence the formation of tongue coating.