AFFECTED MUSCLES: ACTIONS
- Buccinator: Compresses and causes the cheeks to cave in
- Orbicularis oculi: Closes the eye; blinks the eye
- Orbicularis oris: Closes the lips, compresses lips against teeth, protrudes lips, and forms the lips during speech
- Frontalis: Pull the scalp forward, raise the eyebrows, and create wrinkles in the skin of the forehead
- Platysma: Pull down the outer part of the lower lip and backward; this depresses the mandible
- Risorius: Draws angle of mouth laterally, as in grimacing
MECHANISM
- Bell’s palsy is a neurological disorder that leads to paralysis (facial) and weakness on one side of the face. It is caused by the damage or disease of the facial (VII) nerve. It is also considered as an inflammatory process of the facial nerve that results to the compression along the narrow segment of the fallopian canal. In most of its cases, the weakness is temporary and significantly improves over weeks. However, it is permanent to others and mimics the symptoms of stroke.
- Here, the weakness makes the half of the face appear to droop. The eye on the affected side resists from closing and there is a presence of one-sided smiles.
OTHER SYMPTOMS
- Pain around the jaw and behind the ear
- Drooling from one side of the mouth
- Excessive tearing in one eye
- Difficulty in closing an eyelid
- Problems eating or drinking
References:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2023, February 7). Bell’s Palsy. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/bells-palsy
Tortora, G. J., & Derrickson, B. (2017). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (15th ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc.