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?
Cranial nerve VII (Facial Nerve) – The facial nerve controls the muscles of facial expression, including those responsible for closing the eye, smiling, and frowning. It also plays a role in taste sensation from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue and salivary gland function. When the facial nerve is affected, it can lead to weakness or paralysis of the muscles on one side of the face, loss of taste sensation on the front two-thirds of the tongue, and dry mouth due to reduced salivary gland function.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526119/#:~:text=The%20facial%20nerve%20is%20the%20seventh%20cranial%20nerve%20(CN%20VII).