Aysmmetric Crying Facies

This infant has asymmetric crying facies. This condition can be differentiated from facial nerve palsy in that the eye and forhead muscles are unaffected. The etiology is a congenital deficiency or absence of the depressor anguli oris muscle which controls the downward motion of the lip. In this patient, the left side is affected. In rare cases, this anomaly has been associated with cardiac or renal abnormalities or 22q11 deletion, so a careful examination is warranted.

photo by Janelle Aby, MD