Facial Muscles - Upper Group
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Top Contributors - Wendy Walker and Kim Jackson
Description[edit | edit source]
The muscles of the upper portion of the face can be divided into 2 groups:
- Orbital Facial Muscles
- Nasal Facial Muscles
We will examine the 2 groups separately.
Orbital Facial Muscles[edit | edit source]
There are 3 Orbital Facial Muscles:
Occipitofrontalis (often referred to simply as Frontalis)
Orbicularis Oculi
Corrugator Supercilii
Occipitofrontalis[edit | edit source]
Origin and insertion[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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.
Orbicularis Oculi[edit | edit source]
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, and are responsible for blink. The lachrymal fibres are are short
Origin and Insertion[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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.
