Facial Muscles - Upper Group

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Description

The muscles of the upper portion of the face can be divided into 2 groups:

1. Orbital Facial Muscles
2. Nasal Facial Muscles

We will examine the 2 groups separately.

Orbital Facial Muscles

There are 3 Orbital Facial Muscles:

Occipitofrontalis (often referred to simply as Frontalis)

Orbicularis Oculi

Corrugator Supercilii

Occipitofrontalis

Origin and insertion

Occipitofrontalis is one of the muscles of the scalp. It consists of 2 separate bellies:

• Occipital part - which originates from occipital bone (lateral part of the upper nuchal line) and from the mastoid aspect of the temporal bone.
• Frontal part - originates from the superior fibres of the other upper facial muscles (ie. orbicularis oculi, corrugator supercilii and procerus
• Both parts insert into the galea aponeurotica in the scalp

Nerve and blood supply

Nerve supply is the Facial Nerve (CN VII), with the occipital belly supplied by the posterior auricular branch, and the frontal belly by the temporal branch.

Blood supply of the occipital portion is from the occipital artery, and the frontal segment is supplied by the supraorbital and supratrochlear arteries.

Function

The frontalis portion elevates the eyebrows, which causes the horizontal wrinkles in the forehead.

It also weakly moves the skin of the scalp anteriorly

The occiptal part weakly moves the scalp skin posteriorly.

Clinical Relevance

In facial palsy, paralysis of the frontalis muscle results in lack of ability to raise the ipsilateral eyebrow; it also results in absence of horizontal lines/wrinkles on that side of the forehead. In older patients, there may also be some descent of the affected eyebrow, which as well as producing visible asymmetry of the eyebrows can impact on vision in that eye, if the brow ptosis is sufficient to obscure the upper field of vision. Brown ptosis can also lead to a secondary misdirection of the upper eyelid lashes which can irritate/scratch the eye.

Orbicularis Oculi

Surrounding the eye is the orbicularis oculi, a sphincter muscle which consists of 3 sections: the orbital, the palpebral and the lachrymal portions. The fibres are arranged in concentric circles round the upper and lower eyelids. The palpebral fibres form the eyelids.

Origin and Insertion

The fibres originate from the anterior surface of the medial orbital margin, the rim of the eye socket, and the lachrymal sac. They travel laterally, both above and below the eye, to insert into the lateral palpebral raphe. At the peripheral borders of the muscle, the fibres interdigitate (merge in an interlocking fashion) into the bordering muscles, ie. the upper fibres interdigitate with the frontalis and corrugator muscles.

Nerve and blood supply

The muscle is supplied by the seventh cranial nerve, Facial Nerve; the upper fibres by the temporal branch, and the lower fibres by the zygomatic branch.

Function

The palpebral fibres, which form the eyelids, are responsible for blinking.

The lachrymal fibres facilitate drainage of tears by helping to empty the lachrymal sac, and the orbital section of the muscle is responsible for providing a tight eye closure/seal.

The action of orbicularis oculi muscle helps with distribution of the tear film over the cornea.