CVR 7 Flashcards
Where can an emergency airway be created?
Through the cricothyroid membrane.
What structures are supplied by the superior laryngeal nerve?
- It supplies the sensory innervation to the inside of the larynx as far as the vocal
cords. - It innervates to the cricothyroid muscle.
Which nerve supplies the pharyngeal constrictors?
The vagus nerve.
Why do patients who have had a stroke need a swallowing assessment?
A stroke may affect regions of the brain involved in the control of swallowing. If these pathways are interrupted, swallowing is dysfunctional, and loss of sensation
impairs the cough reflex. Patients are at risk of ‘aspiration’ – swallowed liquid or food may pass into the lungs and cause infection.
How might you assess if a patient’s glossopharyngeal nerve was functioning normally?
The glossopharyngeal nerve conveys sensation from the posterior wall of the pharynx and is the afferent limb of the gag reflex. The nerve can be tested by gently brushing the posterior wall of the oropharynx (for example, around the palatine tonsil) with a swab. This is generally unpleasant, so is not routinely tested in a cranial nerve examination, unless there is a clinical concern about pathology/dysfunction of the glossopharyngeal nerve or related structures.
What structures in the neck are visible or palpable on examination?
Structures in the neck that are palpable on examination are the:
* hyoid bone inferior to the mandible
* thyroid cartilage in the midline of the neck (the ‘Adam’s apple’)
* cricoid cartilage in the midline, inferior to the thyroid cartilage
* first tracheal cartilage inferior to the cricoid cartilage
* cricothyroid membrane between the thyroid cartilage and cricoid cartilage –this can be punctured to create an emergency airway
* lobes of the thyroid gland either side of the upper trachea and inferior larynx
* carotid pulse – best palpated just anterior to sternocleidomastoid at the level of the thyroid cartilage.
