Your patient recently had a viral infection and now she cannot move the muscles on the right side of her face. In addition, she is experiencing a loss of taste and dry mouth and she cannot close her right eye. Which cranial nerves have been affected by the viral infection?
It is clear from the patient's signs and symptoms that she have Bell's palsy, a condition that causes facial muscular paralysis on one side. It affects the Facial (VII) nerve, which controls facial expression and regulates the muscles that move the face.