This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Clinical examination

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The clinical examination of the ninth cranial nerve is intimately linked with that of the tenth. A general examination will endeavour to:

  • inspect patient's palate with torch - ask them to say 'ah' - in tenth nerve palsy the palate is pulled up to the normal side
  • test for gag reflex - IX is the sensory component and X the motor component

Ask the patient to speak:

  • assess hoarseness - unilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve lesion
  • ask to cough - bovine cough characteristic of bilateral recurrent nerve lesion

The taste fibres on the posterior third of the tongue (IX) are not routinely tested.


Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page