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?
Case summary: A female patient was suffering from a viral illness that left her unable to shut her right eye, lose taste, and move the muscles on the right side of her face.
Characters in the case: A female patient who had a viral infection
Adequate information: Her face muscle movement on the right side is hampered. She also experiences loss of taste, dry mouth, and cannot close her eyes.
To determine: The damage caused to the cranial nerve by the viral infection.
Explanation: The nerves that emerge from the brain inside the cranial cavity and travel through the cranial bones are known as cranial nerves and are a component of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The presence and function of each cranial nerve are particular to their location. They may have sensory, motor, or a combination of functions.
The facial (VII) cranial nerve is a mixed nerve with axons for sensory and motor tasks. It controls the facial expression muscles' ability to contract and is regarded as the major motor nerve of the head. This nerve got damaged due to the aforementioned viral infection, which caused Bell's palsy, which caused paralysis of the facial muscles, loss of taste, reduced salivation, and the inability to close her right eye.
The right side of the patient's face may have developed Bell's palsy due to a viral infection that affected the facial nerve on the right. As a result, she also had difficulty closing her eyes and experienced dry mouth, taste loss, and reduced salivation.
Conclusion: This leads to the conclusion that the viral infection affected the patient's facial (VII) cranial nerve.