Editing Bell's palsy (section)

==History==
{{See also|List of people with Bell's palsy}}
[[File:CharlesBell001.jpg|thumb|upright|Scottish neurophysiologist Sir [[Charles Bell]] was the first author to describe the anatomical basis for facial paralysis, and has since served as the eponym for Bell's palsy.]]

The Persian physician [[Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi]] (865–925) detailed the first known description of peripheral and central facial palsy.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Sajadi MM, Sajadi MR, Tabatabaie SM | title = The history of facial palsy and spasm: Hippocrates to Razi | journal = Neurology | volume = 77 | issue = 2 | pages = 174–78 | date = July 2011 | pmid = 21747074 | pmc = 3140075 | doi = 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3182242d23 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = van de Graaf RC, Nicolai JP | title = Bell's palsy before Bell: Cornelis Stalpart van der Wiel's observation of Bell's palsy in 1683 | journal = Otology & Neurotology | volume = 26 | issue = 6 | pages = 1235–38 | date = November 2005 | pmid = 16272948 | doi = 10.1097/01.mao.0000194892.33721.f0 | s2cid = 12630888 }}</ref>

Cornelis Stalpart van der Wiel (1620–1702) in 1683 gave an account of Bell's palsy and credited the Persian physician [[Ibn Sina]] (980–1037) for describing this condition before him. [[James Douglas (physician)|James Douglas]] (1675–1742) and {{interlanguage link|Nicolaus Anton Friedreich|de}} (1761–1836) also described it.

Scottish neurophysiologist Sir [[Charles Bell]] read his paper to the [[Royal Society of London]] on July 12, 1821, describing the role of the facial nerve. He became the first to detail the neuroanatomical basis of facial paralysis. Since then, idiopathic peripheral facial paralysis has been referred to as Bell's palsy, named after him.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Bicentenary of Bell's Description of the Neuroanatomical Basis of Facial Paralysis: Historical Remarks|last1=Cantarella|first1=Giovanna|last2=Mazzola|first2=Riccardo F.|journal=[[Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery]]|date=2021-07-27|volume=166 |issue=5 |pages=907–909 |doi=10.1177/01945998211032172|pmid=34314273|s2cid=236473244}}</ref>

A notable person with Bell's palsy is former [[Prime Minister of Canada]] [[Jean Chrétien]].<ref>{{Cite news|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=November 28, 2000|title=Jean Chretien: Veteran fighter|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1042917.stm|access-date=November 7, 2020}}</ref> During the [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993 federal election]], Chrétien's first as leader of the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]], the opposition [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative Party]] ran [[1993 Chrétien attack ad|an attack ad]] in which voice actors criticized him over images that seemed to highlight his abnormal facial expressions. The ad was interpreted as an attack on Chrétien's physical appearance and garnered widespread anger among the public, while Chrétien used the ad to make himself more sympathetic to voters. The ad had the adverse effect of increasing Chrétien's lead in the polls and the subsequent backlash clinched the election for the Liberals, who won in a landslide.