ACTIVITY 2
The patient’s right facial (vii) nerve has been affected; she is suffering from Bell’s palsy due to the viral infection. The facial nerve controls contraction of skeletal muscles of the face, tear gland and salivary gland secretion, as well as conveying sensory impulses from many of the taste buds on the tongue.
These are the cranial nerves that have been affected by the viral infection:
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Cannot move muscles on the right side of her face:
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Facial (VII) nerves: Control of muscles of facial expression
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Trigeminal (V) nerves: Chewing
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Loss of taste:
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Facial (VII) nerves: Taste from anterior two-thirds of tongue.
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Glossopharyngeal (IX) nerves: Taste from posterior one-third of tongue.
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Vagus (X) nerve: Taste from epiglottis.
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Dry mouth:
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Glossopharyngeal (IX) nerves: Secretion of Parotid (saliva) gland
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Facial (VII) nerve: Secretion of submandibular and sublingual glands
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Cannot close her right eye:
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Facial (VII) nerve: Control of muscles of facial expression and middle ear muscle.
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Oculomotor (III) nerve: Movement of eyeballs and upper eyelid.
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Trochlear (IV) nerve: Movement of eyeballs.
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Abducens (VI) nerve: Movement of eyeballs.
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REFERENCES:
Tortora, G. J., & Derrickson, B. H. (2017). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. (15th Ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Huff et al. (2022, Nov 9). Neuroanatomy, Cranial Nerve 5 (Trigeminal).https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482283/
Westbrook et al. (2022, Sep 19). Anatomy, Head and Neck: Facial Muscles. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493209/
Gibbons & Saddic. (2023, May 1). Neuroanatomy, Neural Taste Pathway. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545236/
Sanders, R. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2801485/