Zygomaticus major muscle

Zygomaticus major

Muscles of the head, face, and neck. Zygomaticus major shown in red.
Details
Origin anterior of zygomatic
Insertion modiolus of mouth
Artery facial artery
Nerve zygomatic and buccal branches of the facial nerve
Actions draws angle of mouth upward and laterally
Identifiers
Latin musculus zygomaticus major
TA A04.1.03.029
FMA 46810

Anatomical terms of muscle

The zygomaticus major is a muscle of the human body. It is a muscle of facial expression which draws the angle of the mouth superiorly and posteriorly to allow one to smile.[1] Like all muscles of facial expression, the zygomatic major is innervated by the facial nerve (the seventh cranial nerve), more specifically, the buccal and zygomatic branches of the facial nerve.

Structure

The zygomaticus extends from each zygomatic arch (cheekbone) to the corners of the mouth.

Function

It raises the corners of the mouth when a person smiles. Dimples may be caused by variations in the structure of this muscle.[2]

Image

See also

This article uses anatomical terminology; for an overview, see Anatomical terminology.

References

  1. Stel, Mariëlle; van Dijk, Eric; Olivier, Einav (2009). "You Want to Know the Truth? Then Don't Mimic!". Psychological Science. 20 (6): 694.
  2. "Dimple Creation – Cute as a button, who pays for a deformity?".
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zygomaticus major muscles.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/6/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.