MICROANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -Bell’s palsy is the most common cause of facial paralysis, although its exact cause is unknown. It results from dysfunction of cranial nerve VII, which connects your brain to the muscles that control facial expression (the nerve also is involved with taste and ear sensation).

Detailed explanation-2: -The lower motor neuron lesion of cranial nerve VII is referred to as Bell’s palsy. In Bell’s palsy, symptoms start acutely. Pain behind the ear may precede paralysis by 24 to 48 hours. There can be a transient (up to two weeks) loss of the sensation of taste.

Detailed explanation-3: -Bell’s palsy causes temporary paralysis, or palsy, of facial muscles. It occurs when a condition, such as a viral infection, causes inflammation and swelling of the seventh cranial nerve (the nerve that controls facial muscles). With Bell’s palsy, your face droops on one side or, rarely, both sides.

Detailed explanation-4: -Other causes of peripheral seventh nerve palsy include: neoplasm, trauma, middle ear infections, parotid gland surgery, granulomatous or carcinomatous meningitis, and diabetes. The disturbances of function produced by these lesions need not be complete.

Detailed explanation-5: -Paralysis can occur if any part of the facial nerve, called the seventh cranial nerve, becomes inflamed or damaged. The facial nerve has branches throughout both sides of the face and controls many muscle groups, including those in the brow, eyelid, cheek, and lips.