SYNDROMES INVOLVING THE CRANIAL NERVES III, IV, VI
Abstract:
Several cranial nerves may be affected by the same pathologic process. In this situation, the main clinical problem is to determine whether the lesion is located inside or outside the cerebral trunk. The lesions extending on the surface of the cerebral trunk are characterized by damage to the adjacent cranial nerves and by later and easier damage to the long sensory and motor pathways and to the segmental structures that are located inside the cerebral trunk. The opposite of these phenomena proves the existence of intrabulbar, intrapontine and intra-mesencephalic lesions. The extrabulbar damage produces more likely bone erosion or widening of the cranial nerve access way. The intrabulbar damage affecting the cranial nerves often produces a cross sensory or motor paralysis (signs of cranial nerves on one side of the body and signs of tracts on the opposite side). Due to their anatomical relationships, multiple paralyses of cranial nerves form a number of different syndromes.
full text article in English (.EN) |