{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,27]],"date-time":"2025-08-27T09:40:25Z","timestamp":1756287625368,"version":"3.44.0"},"reference-count":11,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Case Rep"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,31]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Stroke has been called apoplexy since the ancient times of Babylonia. Johann Jakob Wepfer, a Swiss physician, first described the aetiology, clinical features, pathogenesis and postmortem features of an intracranial haemorrhage in 1655. Haemorrhagic and ischaemic strokes are the two subtypes of stroke. Bell\u2019s palsy usually presents with an isolated facial nerve palsy. A lacunar infarct involving the lower pons is a rare cause of solitary infranuclear facial paralysis. The authors present the case of a 66-year-old woman presenting with a 3-day history of headache, vertigo, nausea, vomiting and facial weakness. Her comorbidities included diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia. It was challenging to identify the pontine infarct on MRI due to its small size and the confounding presentation of complete hemi-facial paralysis mimicking Bell\u2019s palsy. Our case provides a cautionary reminder that an isolated facial palsy should not always be attributed to Bell\u2019s palsy, but can be a presentation of a rare dorsal pontine infarct as observed in our case. Anatomic knowledge is crucial for clinical localisation and correlation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bcr-2020-238141","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,18]],"date-time":"2021-03-18T13:10:45Z","timestamp":1616073045000},"page":"e238141","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Pontine stroke mimicking Bell\u2019s palsy: a cautionary tale!"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5499-415X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Louise","family":"Dunphy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ravpreet","family":"Kaur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Enrico","family":"Flossmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,18]]},"reference":[{"doi-asserted-by":"publisher","key":"2025082702173950000_14.3.e238141.1","DOI":"10.1136\/jnnp.47.1.84"},{"unstructured":"Wepfer JJ , Ott J . Observationes Anatomice ex cadaveribus eorum, quos sustulit apoplexia: cum exercitatione de ejus loco affect. Schaffhusii: Impensis Onophrii a Waldkirch, typis Alexandri Riedingii, 1675.","key":"2025082702173950000_14.3.e238141.2"},{"doi-asserted-by":"publisher","key":"2025082702173950000_14.3.e238141.3","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2377-9-25"},{"doi-asserted-by":"publisher","key":"2025082702173950000_14.3.e238141.4","DOI":"10.1212\/WNL.46.1.165"},{"doi-asserted-by":"publisher","key":"2025082702173950000_14.3.e238141.5","DOI":"10.1159\/000442577"},{"doi-asserted-by":"publisher","key":"2025082702173950000_14.3.e238141.6","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.329.7465.553"},{"unstructured":"Sinnatamby CS . Last\u2019s Anatomy Chapter 7. 501. 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