Cranial Nerve Impairment Following a Stroke- Understanding the Impact on Facial Movement and Swallowing

Cranial Nerve Impairment Following a Stroke- Understanding the Impact on Facial Movement and Swallowing

CVA is a medical abbreviation that stands for cerebral vascular accident, also known as stroke. It is a condition that emanates from compromised perfusion to the brain cells. It can either result from blockage or breakage of a blood vessel—that is, the blockage can lead to ischemic stroke, while a broken vessel can leak blood into the brain, leading to hemorrhagic stroke. The most definitive symptom of stroke is weakness and the loss of function in some parts of the body. Common risk factors are untreated cardiovascular problems, such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, as well as a family history of stroke (Khaku & Tadi, 2022).

The brain is responsible for controlling all the body functions. This function of the brain is facilitated by structures in the brainstem, called the cranial nerves that have their purpose as sensory, motor, or mixed. There are twelve cranial nerves in the human body named I to XII, depending on their sequential origin from the caudal to the ventral brainstem or their functions. Each cranial nerve has a distinct role of innervation to a certain part of the body, and when damaged, the part innervated by the cranial nerve loses its function. The twelve cranial nerves are olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, and hypoglossal. These nerves are labeled cranial nerve I to cranial nerve XII, respectively (Sonne & Lopez-Ojeda, 2020).

In the case involving the client living in the assisted living facility, the nerve responsible for controlling the muscles of the face and responsible for their movement to make various facial expressions has been damaged. The nerve responsible for these motor functions is the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII). The patient also presents with difficulty swallowing as well as tasting. Swallowing is a motor function controlled by the vagus nerve (cranial nerve X), while the glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve IX) is responsible for conducting the sensory function to transmit taste sensations from the back of the tongue to the brain (Sonne & Lopez-Ojeda, 2020). Therefore, the stroke damaged these cranial nerves.

References

Khaku, A., & Tadi, P. (2022). Cerebrovascular disease (stroke). PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430927/

Sonne, J., & Lopez-Ojeda, W. (2020). Neuroanatomy, cranial nerve. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470353/

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You are working at an assisted living facility and one of your clients has suffered a CVA (stroke). The client can no longer move the muscles on the right side of their face.

Cranial Nerve Impairment Following a Stroke- Understanding the Impact on Facial Movement and Swallowing

They are also having trouble tasting and swallowing their food. What cranial nerve(s) were damaged with their stroke?