As their name suggests, these muscles control the facial expressions by pulling and wrinkling the facial skin.

Figure 1. The muscles of facial expression (Credit: OpenStack, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Description

The muscles of the facial expression are located within the subcutaneous tissue, and they originate from and insert on bones or within the subcutaneous tissue. They have a common embryological origin: the second pharyngeal arch.

Groups

FIgure 2. Muscles of facial expression

They are usually split into 5 groups, depending on their location and function:

  1. Eyes
  2. Nose
  3. Mouth
  4. Forehead and occiput
  5. Neck

Eyes

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