A 50-year-old retired army major complained of severe pain in the ear and throat. Pain was episodic and triggered by swallowing, chewing, coughing, and laughing. Symptoms include loss of gag (pharyngeal) reflex; analgesia and anesthesia in the region of the tonsils and dysphagia. Which cranial nerve's lesion produces these neurologic deficits?
High-Yield Explanation
Glossopharyngeal neuralgia has the following neurologic deficits: Excruciating, paroxysmal pain that comes from the tonsillar area and radiates to the ear. Loss of taste sensation from the posterior 1/3 of the tongue; and loss of palatal and gag reflexes Potential causes include fractures of the skull base, thrombosis of the sigmoid sinus, tumors, and aneurysms of the posterior fossa. Facial nerve injury associated with facial muscle paralysis Hypoglossal nerve injury associated with tongue muscle paralysis Trigeminal nerve injury associated with loss of sensation over face and loss of jaw jerk