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?
In reference to the paralysis of her face and the condition of her mouth and sense of taste, it seems that the viral infection has affected the patient’s facial (VII) nerve. Besides having control over an individual’s facial movement and expression, the 7th cranial nerve is also responsible for the parasympathetic innervation of the glands of the oral cavity. Altogether, it can be deduced that the patient has a condition called Bell’s palsy.
References:
What is the Facial Nerve? | Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery | Stanford Medicine. (n.d.). Stanford Medicine. https://med.stanford.edu/ohns/OHNS-healthcare/facialnervecenter/about-the-facial-nerve.html
Dulak, D., & Naqvi, I. A. (2021). Neuroanatomy, Cranial Nerve 7 (Facial). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526119/
Bell's Palsy. (n.d.). Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/bells-palsy