14 Clinical Cases II Flashcards
Answer the questions in the purple boxes:
Apart from motor fibres to th muscles of facial expression, what other functions are carried by the facial nerve?
- Taste - anterior 2/3 of tongue
- Parasympathetics
- Lacrimal, nasal and salivary glands (sublingual and submandibular)
- Stapedius muscle (ear)
- General sensation to ear- relevant for ramsey hunt syndrome
Which nerve carries general sensation to the tongue?
Posterior 1/3 = IX glossopharyngeal
Anterior 2/3= Vc- Lingual branch
How might a doctor test the integrity of the facial nerve?
Test muscles of facial expression top to bottom
Use history- explore other feature/functions of facial nerve eg dry eyes?
What other areas would you examine to find potential causes of referred pain to the ear?
Throat, tonsils, TMJ joint, lymph nodes
If a patient with mastoiditis presents to their GP, what should the GP do?
Refer straight to ENT
IV antibiotics
may require surgery
What other anatomical structures within the skull can potentially be affected by the spread of infection from the middle ear?
Dura- meningitis
Temporal lobe- absess
Sigmoid sinus- thrombosis