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risorius muscle

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The risorius muscle is a highly variable muscle of facial expression. It has numerous and very variable origins, and inserts into the angle of the mouth. It receives motor innervation from branches of facial nerve (CN VII). It may be absent or asymmetrical in some people. It pulls the angle of the mouth sidewise, such as during smiling.

Key facts

Muscle.Name
Risorius
Muscle.Latin
musculus risorius
Muscle.Image
Sobo 1909 260 - Risorius.png
Muscle.Caption
Superficial muscles of the head and neck, showing the risorius in red. This version of the muscle does not match that shown in most sources.
Muscle.Image2
Musculusrisorius.png
Muscle.Caption2
Muscles of the head, face, and neck. Risorius shown in red. This is the most standard version of the direction and origin of the muscle.
Muscle.Origin
Parotid fascia
Muscle.Insertion
Modiolus
Muscle.Blood
Facial artery
Muscle.Nerve
Buccal branch of the facial nerve
Muscle.Action
Draws back angle of mouth

via Wikipedia infobox

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

13 sections
Contents
  • Structure
  • Attachments
  • Innervation
  • Vasculature
  • Variation
  • Relations
  • Function
  • Clinical significance
  • Other animals
  • Etymology
  • Additional images
  • References
  • External links

The risorius muscle is a highly variable muscle of facial expression. It has numerous and very variable origins, and inserts into the angle of the mouth. It receives motor innervation from branches of facial nerve (CN VII). It may be absent or asymmetrical in some people. It pulls the angle of the mouth sidewise, such as during smiling.

== Structure == The risorius muscle is highly variable.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “risorius muscle” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.