Muscles of Facial Expression
Muscles of Facial Expression
Smiling
• Risorius
- Pull the angle of the mouth superiorly 6 pairs of muscles are contracting when smiling
and laterally
• Zygomaticus Minor
- Elevate and evert the upper lip
- It is located more anteriorly
- Pull the inner surface of the upper lip
• Zygomaticus Major
- Elevating and everting the angle of the
mouth
- It is located more posteriorly
• Levator Labii Superioris
the scalp forwards and wrinkles the
Frowning/Sadness/Anger forehead, producing a frown.
• Orbicularis oculi
• Orbicularis oris
- Bilateral contraction of the entire
muscle brings the lips together and
closes the mouth. An isolated
contraction of certain parts of the
muscle can produce different
movements of the mouth, such as lip
pouting, puckering, twisting, and others
• Depressor anguli oris
- Depress the angle of the mouth
- Produce frowning
• Mentalis
- Depress and evert the base of the lower
lip
- pouting
2 parts of occipitofrontalis
• Occipital belly
• Frontal belly
2 contractions of occipitoftontalis
• Upward contraction – surprise or shock
• Downward contraction – frowning
Frowning/Sadness/Anger
16-18 muscles are contracting when frowning
• Procerus
- Depress the medial ends of the
eyebrows and wrinkle the skin over the
glabella. This creates a facial
expression of frowning to convey
emotions of anger or sorrow, or when Orbicularis oris – shapes the mouth
exposed to bright light or other eye Orbicularis Oculi
irritants. Depressor anguli oris – pull the corner of the mouth
downward
• Corrugator supercilia
Mentalis – pull the lower lip downward
- Put the eyebrows medially and
Corrugator supercilia
produces vertical wrinkles over the
Procerus - Wrinkling of forehead, eyebrows meet when
glabella, creating a facial expression of
angry
frowning.
Nasalis –
• Nasalis Platysma – pull the corner of the mouth downward
- Compressing the nasal aperture with its
Occipitofrontalis
transverse part, and dilating the nostrils
with its alar part. *Smiling has less energy use than frowning because
• Platysma there are less muscles that are contracting.
- Lowering the corners of the mouth and
lower lip. Surprise/Shock
• Occipitofrontalis • Occipitofrontalis
- When its forehead attachment is fixed, - If its aponeurotic attachment is fixed,
the contraction of the frontal part pulls the frontal belly elevates the eyebrows
and skin of the forehead, creating an
expression of surprise.
Whistling/Sucking Muscle
• Buccinator
- Compress the cheek against the molar
teeth and prevent them from getting
bitten during mastication. It also
contributes to keeping the bolus of food
central in the oral cavity and preventing
it from escaping into the oral vestibule.
In addition, the buccinator has an
important role in playing wind
instruments or whistling, since it allows
blowing the air from the inflated
vestibule by compressing the cheeks.