Damage to the nerve to levator ani and its branches results in what?

• A. Increased pelvic organ support
• B. Pelvic organ hypertonia
• C. Loss of pelvic viscera support and incontinence due to muscle stretch or tear
• D. Decreased abdominal reflex

Answer: (C)

Damage to the nerve to levator ani weakens the pelvic floor, the major muscular support for pelvic viscera. When this support is lost or diminished, pelvic organs such as the bladder, uterus, and rectum can descend (pelvic organ prolapse) and the continence mechanism can fail, especially under strain, leading to incontinence. This is because the levator ani normally maintains horizontal support and tone of the pelvic floor; injury leads to muscle stretch or tear and reduced supportive function.

The other options don’t fit because increasing pelvic organ support would require stronger, not weaker, muscle function; pelvic organ hypertonia implies excessive muscle tone rather than weakness; and the abdominal reflex is mediated by nerves of the abdominal wall, not by the pelvic floor nerves, so it isn’t a direct consequence of injury to the nerve to levator ani.