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?
If my patient is now unable to move specific muscles of her face and is experiencing problems with taste and dryness of the mouth, several of her cranial nerves have been affected by the viral infection. These are the common symptoms of Bell’s palsy, a condition that causes paralysis of the facial muscles (Tortora & Derrickson, 2014). Her inability to move the muscles on the right side of her face and close her right eye, loss of taste, and dryness of the mouth are due to facial (VII) nerve damage. Her glossopharyngeal (IX) nerve and vagus (X) nerve are affected as well, contributing to her experience of loss of taste and dry mouth, as these cranial nerves are also responsible for gustation and secretion of saliva.
Reference
Tortora. G. J. & Derrickson, B. (2014). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. New York, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.