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Lesions of the hypoglossal nerve —diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation
Author(s) -
Rontal Eugene,
Rontal Michael
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-198208000-00014
Subject(s) - hypoglossal nerve , medicine , skull , anatomy , cranial nerves , posterior cranial fossa , posterior fossa , neuroscience , pathology , biology , tongue
The hypoglossal nerve is one of the four nerves in the posterior cranial fossa. These include the vagus, glosspharyngeal, and spinal accessory nerves. The hypoglossal is, however, distinctly different from these other three nerves, having a separate blood supply in the brain stem, a separate exit from the skull, and a distinct physiologic function. As such, its distinctive findings provide an integral link to the diagnosis of posterior fossa disease. By coordinating anatomy and physiology to diagnosis, specific pathologic entities may be ascertained. This methodology can be applied to the classic supranuclear, nuclear and peripheral division of neurologic disorders. It is the purpose of this paper to provide a systemized approach to the diagnosis of disease involving the hypoglossal nerve. This approach will, in turn, allow an accurate diagnosis over an extensive part of the nervous system, especially in the brain stem and posterior fossa.