The facial muscles are like elastic sheets that are stretched in layers over the cranium, facial

bones, the openings they form, and the cartilage, fat, and other tissues of the head. These are the muscles of facial expression, acting singly and in combination. The diagram below shows a simplified view of how the facial muscles are actually arranged. It has a cut-away view of some of the muscles on the right side of the image to show the layers. Move the mouse cursor over the diagram of facial muscles below and click on a facial muscle of interest to see more information. Most of the muscles have a short video that illustrates the appearances that are produced when the muscle acts. Innervation and blood supply are also indicated. Triangularis, a name based on its shape, (also known as Depressor anguli oris) originates in the mandible and platysma and inserts in the skin and orbicular muscle at corner of the mouth. It is a muscle whose evolutionary connection to the platysma is evident, being continuous with it and extending to the mouth. This muscle causes the corners of the mouth to turn down and form the lips into an inverted U, an action stereotyped as indicating grief. It produces a frown in the mouth. Levator labii superioris is a muscle in the upper lip and cheek that has two relatively independent parts, nasal part and lateral part, which are again divisible into separable muscle bundles. (Some experts consider zygomatic minor to be the zygomatic head of levator labii superioris.) The lateral part (infraorbital head) originates in the medial part of the orbit and inserts in the corners of the lips and into muscles of the upper lip. This part raises the upper lip relatively straight up. The nasal part (angular head) originates on the cheek bone near where it meets the bones of the nose and inserts into the skin of the nose and skin of the lip just lateral to the nasal wing. The action of this muscle raises the upper lip, stretches the nasal wing up, and wrinkles the nose. Levator labii superioris is innervated by zygomatic and buccal branches of the facial nerve (VII) and is supplied with blood by the facial artery. Risorius originates in the fascia of the masseter below the zygomatic arch and inserts in the skin near the corner of the mouth. It acts to stretch the mouth laterally, retracting the corners of the mouth, and has been thought (erroneously) to produce "grinning" or "smiling." It has a connection with the platysma in that it often contracts with it. The corrugator muscle originates at the inner orbit of the eye near the root of the nose and inserts into the skin of the forehead above the center of each eyebrow. It pulls the eyebrows and skin from the center of each eyebrow to its inner corner medially and down, forming vertical wrinkles in the glabella area and horizontal wrinkles at the bridge of the nose. It most often acts simultaneously with two nearby smaller muscles, the depressor supercillii and the procerus. It is one of the most important of expressive muscles. Some suggest this is the muscle of grief and suffering (research suggests much more diverse roles). It produces a frown in the eyebrows and forehead. The frontalis muscle runs vertically on the forehead, originating in tissues of the scalp (galea aponeurotica) above the hairline and inserting into the skin in the forehead and near the eyebrows. (It is considered the front part of the Epicranius muscle or Occipito-frontalis which covers the scalp from the forehead to the back of the head.) Contraction of the entire frontalis draws the eyebrows and skin of the forehead upwards and forms horizontal wrinkles running across the forehead. It is composed of inner (medial) and outer (lateral) parts, which can function relatively independently. Frontalis is innervated by temporal branches of the facial nerve (VII) and is supplied with blood by the superficial temporal artery. The inner frontalis is the medial part of the frontalis muscle. Its contraction raises the medial part of the brow and eyebrows, forming slanted wrinkles in the forehead and creating a slant up towards the center in the eyebrows. The outer frontalis is the lateral part of the frontalis muscle. Its contraction raises the lateral (outer) part of the brow and eyebrows, forming wrinkles in the lateral part of the forehead and an arched shape to the eyebrows.

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