Earlier studies in humans have shown that pharyngeal stimulation by water at a threshold volume induces a brief vocal cord adduction, i.e., pharyngoglottal closure reflex. The present study was undertaken to 1) develop a suitable animal model for physiological studies of this reflex and 2) delineate its neural pathway and effector organs. Studies were done in cats by concurrent videoendoscopy a...

Schwannoma is one of the common benign middle ear space tumors. Middle ear space schwannomas may originate from the nerves of the tympanic cavity or by extensions from outside the middle ear space. In the English-language literature, the facial nerve and chorda tympani nerve, but not yet the tympanic branch of glossopharyngeal nerve (Jacobson's nerve), have been reported as the origins of intri...

BACKGROUND In neurosurgery, the most common type of facial and pharyngeal pain is trigeminal neuralgia. In contrast, glossopharyngeal neuralgia is relatively rare, and laryngeal neuralgia is the most rarely observed. CASE PRESENTATION A case of laryngeal neuralgia combined with intermediate nerve neuralgia that was admitted to our hospital in May 2012 was reported here. The patient was a 58-y...

Ramsay-Hunt syndrome is caused by varicella zoster virus infection in the geniculate ganglion of the facial nerve. It is characterized by facial palsy, otic pain, and herpetic vesicles around the auricle and external auditory canal. Additionally, symptoms may develop related to other cranial nerve involvement, such as dizziness or hearing loss by the vestibulocochlear nerve being invaded. We re...

We describe the case of a 65-year-old patient with glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Pain was triggered by swallowing, yawning, or cold food. We used the anterior tonsillar pillar method for the injection of drugs; a relatively new glossopharyngeal nerve (GPN) block which was described by Benumof (Anesthesiology 1991;75:1094-1096). Performing this GPN block, daily levobupivacaine (Chirocaine® 5 mg/ml...

The first description of severe pain in the distribution of the glossopharyngeal nerve is credited to Weisenberg, in 1910, in a patient with cerebellopontine angle tumor. However, it was Harris, in 1926, who coined the term glossopharyngeal neuralgia to describe this rare condition characterized by paroxysms of excruciating pain located laterally at the back of the tongue, soft palate, throat, ...

A glossopharyngeal neuralgia case with cardiac asystole is presented. The sinus mode dysfunction and subsequent syncope with pain appears to be the most important life-threatening symptom in the late period of the disease. Because of cardiac symptoms induced by intense vagal stimulation, this case was considered to be vagoglossopharyngeal neuralgia. Several medical and surgical alternatives hav...

BACKGROUND The polycystic kidney disease-like ion channel PKD2L1 and its associated partner PKD1L3 are potential candidates for sour taste receptors. PKD2L1 is expressed in type III taste cells that respond to sour stimuli and genetic elimination of cells expressing PKD2L1 substantially reduces chorda tympani nerve responses to sour taste stimuli. However, the contribution of PKD2L1 and PKD1L3 ...

Clinical studies were performed on 325 patients with Ramsay Hunt syndrome who were treated in the Facial Nerve Clinic at Ehime University Hospital between 1976 and 1995. The clinical manifestations of Ramsay Hunt syndrome were various. Three major symptoms, auricular vesicles, facial paralysis and vestibulo-cochlear dysfunction, were found in 57.6% of the patients although these symptoms did no...