Facial Muscles

Cards · 53

Circular muscle surrounding the eye orbit; closes eyelids and squints

Orbicularis oculi

Circular muscle encircling the mouth; puckers and closes the lips

Orbicularis oris

Forehead muscle that raises the eyebrows and wrinkles the forehead horizontally

Frontalis (occipitofrontalis frontal belly)

Back of the scalp muscle that pulls the scalp posterior-ward

Occipitalis (occipitofrontalis occipital belly)

Cheek muscle compressed against teeth; assists in chewing and blowing

Buccinator

Major cheek muscle extending from zygomatic arch to angle of mandible; elevates jaw for chewing

Masseter

Fan-shaped muscle on lateral skull over temporal fossa; elevates and retracts mandible

Temporalis

Broad, thin superficial neck and lower face sheet; tenses neck skin and depresses mandible

Platysma

Cheek muscle extending from zygomatic bone to mouth corner; pulls corner upward for a smile

Zygomaticus major

Slender muscle medial to zygomaticus major; elevates the upper lip

Zygomaticus minor

Vertical muscle between eyebrow and upper lip; directly elevates the upper lip

Levator labii superioris

Muscle along side of nose; flares the nostril and elevates upper lip

Levator labii superioris alaeque nasi

Deep cheek muscle beneath levator labii superioris; elevates the corner of the mouth

Levator anguli oris

Triangular muscle from mandible to mouth corner; pulls mouth corners down in a frown

Depressor anguli oris

Flat quadrilateral muscle of lower lip; pulls the lower lip directly downward

Depressor labii inferioris

Pair of muscles on prominence of chin; protrudes lower lip and wrinkles chin skin

Mentalis

Small muscle drawing eyebrow downward and inward; produces vertical wrinkles between brows

Corrugator supercilii

Small muscle over nasal bone; pulls inner angle of eyebrows down, producing bridge-of-nose wrinkles

Procerus

Muscle bridging bridge of nose; compresses and flares nasal cartilages

Nasalis

Transverse bridge part of nasalis; compresses the nasal apertures

Compressor naris (Nasalis transverse part)

Lower part of nasalis inserting into alar cartilage; widens the anterior nasal aperture

Dilator naris (Nasalis alar part)

Small muscle arising from incisive fossa of maxilla; pulls nasal septum downward

Depressor septi nasi

Thin lateral muscle running horizontally to corner of mouth; produces a fake grin or smirk

Risorius

Outer, thick circular ring of eye muscle; forcibly squeezes the eyelids shut

Orbicularis oculi (orbital part)

Inner, thin part of eye muscle over tarsal plates; gently closes eyelids during blinking

Orbicularis oculi (palpebral part)

Deep medial fibers of palpebral muscle; compresses lacrimal sac to promote tear drainage

Orbicularis oculi (lacrimal part)

Deep upper orbital muscle; elevates the upper eyelid

Levator palpebrae superioris

Muscle deep to orbicularis oculi near medial brow; depresses medial aspect of eyebrow

Depressor supercilii

Small anterior fan-shaped muscle in front of ear; pulls ear upward and forward

Auricularis anterior

Thin, fan-shaped muscle above ear; elevates the pinna

Auricularis superior

Slender muscle behind ear; retracts the auricle backward

Auricularis posterior

Deep masticatory muscle from sphenoid to condyle; protrudes mandible and opens mouth

Lateral pterygoid

Deep masticatory muscle inside mandibular ramus; elevates mandible and aids side-to-side chewing

Medial pterygoid

Two-bellied suprahyoid muscle under jaw; depresses mandible and elevates hyoid bone

Digastric

Flat muscle forming floor of mouth; elevates hyoid bone and tongue during swallowing

Mylohyoid

Narrow muscle from styloid process to hyoid; pulls hyoid upward and backward

Stylohyoid

Short muscle above mylohyoid; pulls hyoid bone forward and depresses mandible

Geniohyoid

Prominent two-headed neck muscle running diagonally; rotates and flexes the head

Sternocleidomastoid

Broad aponeurotic tendon connecting frontal and occipital bellies over crown of skull

Galea aponeurotica (epicranial aponeurosis)

Dense muscular node lateral to mouth angle where several facial expression muscles converge

Modiolus

Cranial nerve whose motor branches innervate all muscles of facial expression

Facial nerve (Cranial Nerve VII)

Cranial nerve providing motor innervation to the four primary muscles of mastication

Trigeminal nerve (Mandibular division, V3)

Superficial facial nerve branch supplying frontalis and superior orbicularis oculi

Temporal branch of facial nerve

Facial nerve branch supplying orbicularis oculi and muscles below the eye orbit

Zygomatic branch of facial nerve

Facial nerve branch running across cheek to buccinator and upper lip muscles

Buccal branch of facial nerve

Facial nerve branch crossing lower jaw to innervate lower lip and chin muscles

Marginal mandibular branch of facial nerve

Most inferior facial nerve branch descending to innervate the platysma muscle

Cervical branch of facial nerve

Upper head of lateral pterygoid; stabilizes articular disc during jaw clenching

Superior head of lateral pterygoid

Lower head of lateral pterygoid; pulls condyle forward to protrude and depress mandible

Inferior head of lateral pterygoid

Superficial fiber layer of masseter; runs inferoposteriorly to angle of mandible to exert bite force

Superficial masseter

Deeper vertical fibers of masseter; retracts and elevates the mandibular ramus

Deep masseter

Anterior fibers of temporalis; run vertically to forcefully close and elevate the jaw

Anterior temporalis

Posterior fibers of temporalis; run horizontally to pull jaw backward into retracted position

Posterior temporalis