ACTIVITY 4
This is patient AM, 28-year-old male who came in the ER because of drooping of his left face. He said he woke up and he could not move his left face.
He has no other muscle weakness. He is conscious and coherent although he had a little difficulty speaking because the left side of his lips drooped. He had normal blood pressure and he had no other co-morbidities. He was diagnosed to have Bell’s palsy. Name 5 muscles which are affected and list its actions. Describe the mechanism of his muscle weakness. What other symptoms could the patient exhibit as a result of facial muscle weakness?
Muscles affected by Bell’s Palsy
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Frontalis- Draws the scalp anteriorly, raises eyebrows, and wrinkles the skin of the forehead horizontally as if looking surprised.
Orbicularis oculi- Closes eyes
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Orbicularis oris- Closes and protrudes the lips
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Buccinator- maintains the tightness of the cheeks and presses them against the teeth during chewing
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Platysma muscles- draws the outer part of lower lip inferiorly and posteriorly as in pouting; depresses the mandible.
Bell palsy is a disorder of the seventh cranial nerve controlling the movement of the muscles in the face. Damage to this nerve causes weakness or paralysis of these muscles. Other symptoms include facial drooping, pain around the jaw or behind the ear of the affected side of the face, drooling, difficulty making facial expressions, and headache.