A decrease in tongue strength is noted on examination of a client. The nurse interprets this as indicating a problem with which cranial nerve?
VIII
XII
VI
III
The Correct Answer is B
Choice A reason: Cranial nerve VIII (vestibulocochlear) governs hearing and balance, not tongue strength. A deficit here causes vertigo or deafness, not motor weakness in the tongue, making it unrelated to the observed decrease in muscle power during examination.
Choice B reason: Cranial nerve XII (hypoglossal) controls tongue movement and strength. Weakness here, as noted, suggests nerve damage, like in stroke or ALS, impairing the tongue’s ability to push against resistance, directly explaining the finding accurately.
Choice C reason: Cranial nerve VI (abducens) moves the eye laterally, not the tongue. A problem here causes diplopia, not tongue weakness, disconnecting it from the motor function loss observed in the client’s oral examination entirely here.
Choice D reason: Cranial nerve III (oculomotor) controls eye movement and pupil response, not tongue strength. Its dysfunction leads to ptosis or eye deviation, irrelevant to the tongue’s motor impairment noted in this neurological assessment fully.
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Correct Answer is D
Explanation
Choice A reason: Bilateral malalignment implies both eyes misalign variably, but esotropia specifies inward deviation, often unilateral. This vague term doesn’t match the precise diagnosis of esotropia present for five years, making it less expected here fully.
Choice B reason: Left eye turning outward is exotropia, not esotropia, which turns inward. This contradicts the client’s documented condition, misaligning with the expected inward deviation from cranial nerve VI or muscle imbalance entirely and accurately here.
Choice C reason: Oscillating eyes suggest nystagmus, not esotropia’s fixed inward turn. Esotropia is static misalignment, not rhythmic movement, excluding this as the priority finding for this client’s established eye condition in this exam fully here.
Choice D reason: Right eye turning inward fits esotropia, a common misalignment where one eye deviates medially. Given the five-year history, this is the expected external exam finding, reflecting the diagnosis accurately and consistently in this case here.
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Choice A reason: Bell palsy affects cranial nerve VII, causing facial paralysis, not smell, which is cranial nerve I’s domain. A week of anosmia doesn’t align with this motor nerve issue, ruling it out as a cause of olfactory dysfunction here.
Choice B reason: Leukoplakia involves oral white patches, unrelated to smell, which cranial nerve I governs. It’s a mucosal condition, not nasal, missing the anatomical link to olfactory loss reported by the client over the past week entirely.
Choice C reason: Nasal polyps, benign growths in nasal passages, obstruct airflow, impairing cranial nerve I’s smell function. A week-long decrease fits this common cause, making it the priority to assess for physical blockage or inflammation in the nasal cavity accurately.
Choice D reason: Cranial nerve V (trigeminal) handles facial sensation, not smell, which is cranial nerve I’s role. A lesion here causes pain or numbness, not anosmia, excluding it as a relevant condition for this olfactory complaint specifically and fully.
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