USMLE · Question #617
A 12-year-old female is brought to the physician by her mother due to a severe sore throat. She has significant pain with swallowing and generally feels tired. Her mother also reports that the patient
The correct answer is D. sensory input from carotid sinus baroreceptors. Afferent nerve fibers (sensory) travel to the central nervous system (CNS) while efferent nerve fibers (motor) travel away from the CNS. The glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve IX) carries general somatic sensation from the posterior part of the upper pharynx, eustachian tube,
Question
A 12-year-old female is brought to the physician by her mother due to a severe sore throat. She has significant pain with swallowing and generally feels tired. Her mother also reports that the patient has had a high fever for the past four days. Physical examination reveals an erythematous patch on the upper posterior pharynx and tenderness of the cervical lymph nodes. Vitals reveal a temperature of 39.5°C (103.1°F). The nerve responsible for this patient's throat pain is also involved in
Options
- Ahead rotation to opposite side
- Bmovement of intrinsic tongue muscles
- Csensation of the lower jaw
- Dsensory input from carotid sinus baroreceptors
- Etaste in the anterior two thirds of the tongue
How the community answered
(42 responses)- B5% (2)
- C10% (4)
- D83% (35)
- E2% (1)
Explanation
Afferent nerve fibers (sensory) travel to the central nervous system (CNS) while efferent nerve fibers (motor) travel away from the CNS. The glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve IX) carries general somatic sensation from the posterior part of the upper pharynx, eustachian tube, middle ear and posterior one third of the tongue. It also conveys afferent fibers from the carotid sinus baroreceptors, carotid body chemoreceptors and taste sensation from the posterior one third of the tongue as well as parasympathetic efferents to the parotid gland via the otic ganglion. Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) and painful swallowing (odynophagia) can result from a variety of causes including abnormal motor innervation to the muscles of the pharynx or esophagus (vagus nerve), disorders of esophageal motility and of the lower esophageal sphincter (achalasia) and compression of the pharynx or esophagus from nearby structures such as in left atrial
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