Facial nerve testing

Many years ago when I was in nursing school, I learned a saying that was supposed to help me recall the cranial nerves. A few years ago, a colleague taught me a much easier way to remember the cranial nerves and their locations—by drawing a face and using numbers as the facial features. Each number represents one of the 12 cranial nerves, and the placement of the numbers represents the location of or an association with them. Located in the nose, cranial nerve CN I controls the sense of smell. However, suspect an abnormality in a neurologic patient who has a poor appetite. To assess the nerve, use soap and coffee—both are easy to find on a unit.

Donika K. Kerry H. Address: Donika K. ABSTRACT Bell palsy is a common neurologic disorder characterized by acute facial mononeuropathy of unclear cause presenting with unilateral facial weakness. Careful examination and a detailed history are important in making an accurate diagnosis.

PATIENTS suffering from facial paralysis want to know whether their disfigurement will grow worse or better, whether it will improve only partly, or recover completely. This is a very legitimate request and the doctor must know how to answer this question as well as he possibly can. In some cases the answer is not so very difficult. The clinical picture and the case history may give him all the information he needs.

Smell, a function of the 1st olfactory cranial nerve, is usually evaluated only after head trauma or when lesions of the anterior fossa eg, meningioma are suspected or patients report abnormal smell or taste. The patient is asked to identify odors eg, soap, coffee, cloves presented to each nostril while the other nostril is occluded. Alcohol, ammonia, and other irritants, which test the nociceptive receptors of the 5th trigeminal cranial nerve, are used only when malingering is suspected. For the 2nd optic cranial nerve, visual acuity is tested using a Snellen chart for distance vision or a handheld chart for near vision; each eye is assessed individually, with the other eye covered.