A 63-year-old man with hearing loss in his left ear complains of a loss of taste and drooling from the left side of his mouth. A CT scan shows a tumor compressing the nerve entering the skull through which of the following openings?
The tumor is compressing the facial nerve, which runs through the internal acoustic meatus along with the vestibulocochlear nerve, which provides sense of taste to the anterior two thirds of the tongue via the chorda tympani and also mediates all of the facial muscles, except the muscles of mastication. The mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve courses through the foramen ovale and mediates motor to the muscles of mastication and sensory to the lower third of the face. The maxillary branch of the trigeminal passes through the foramen rotundum and is sensory to the middle third of the face. The jugular foramen has the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accessory nerves coursing through it. Finally, the superior orbital fissure has the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve coursing through it, along with the oculomotor, trochlear, and abducens nerves.
Foramen ovale
Foramen rotundum
Internal acoustic meatus
Jugular foramen
Head & Neck