A 61-year-old woman undergoes surgery to remove a solitary painless mass anterior to tragus of her left ear. Pathologic examination shows a well-circumscribed, yellowish-white tumor with a proliferation of epithelial and myoepithelial cells in duct formations within a background of loose myxoid tissue. During the surgery, particular attention is paid to the nerve that exits the skull via the stylomastoid foramen, passes lateral to the styloid process, and then enters this affected structure during surgery will most likely result in

A 61-year-old woman undergoes surgery to remove a solitary painless mass anterior to tragus of her left ear. Pathologic examination shows a well-circumscribed, yellowish-white tumor with a proliferation of epithelial and myoepithelial cells in duct formations within a background of loose myxoid tissue. During the surgery, particular attention is paid to the nerve that exits the skull via the stylomastoid foramen, passes lateral to the styloid process, and then enters this affected structure during surgery will most likely result in

A 61-year-old woman undergoes surgery to remove a solitary painless mass anterior to tragus of her left ear. Pathologic examination shows a well-circumscribed, yellowish-white tumor with a proliferation of epithelial and myoepithelial cells in duct formations within a background of loose myxoid tissue. During the surgery, particular attention is paid to the nerve that exits the skull via the stylomastoid foramen, passes lateral to the styloid process, and then enters this affected structure during surgery will most likely result in



(A) inability to furrow the brow(to frown) on this same side
(B) numbness over the angle and mental region of the jaw on the same side
(C) Ptosis of the eye on the same tissue
(D) Weakness in closing the eye on the same side
(E) Weakness of the lower lip on the same side


Answer: E: Weakness of the lower lip on the same side