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Uvula Deviation!

23K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  YoramFishke 
#1 ·
You touch the left side of the pharynx and the patient's uvula deviates to the left and you touch the right side of the pharynx and the patient does not gag. Where is the lesion?

a- Left glossopharyngeal
b- Left vagus and glossopharyngeal
c- Right glossopharyngeal
d- Right vagus and glossopharyngeal
e- Right vugus
 
#8 ·
Because there was a gag on the left side


Because when you touched the left side there was a gag (though a deviated one) which means that the left glossopharyngeal is working. But when you touched the right side there's was no gag at all (which means the afferent limb is cut).
Remember that afferent glossopharyngeal goes unilaterally to the brains stem and then it comes back "bilaterally" to both vagus nerves on both sides.
In this case it was the ability to elicit the gag on the left side that helped us to understand that the absent right sided gag is actually sensory not motor.
 
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