Head and neck muscles (chewing, facial, and throat muscles)
Zygomaticus Minor
Musculus zygomaticus minor
- Origin
- Zygomatic bone, anterior to the origin of the zygomaticus major muscle
- Insertion
- Upper lip, between the levator labii superioris and zygomaticus major muscles
- Function
- Elevates the upper lip and pulls it laterally, contributing to exposure of the upper teeth when smiling
- Innervation
- Zygomatic and buccal branches of the facial nerve (CN VII)
- Movement & chain
- Elevates the upper lip laterally and contributes to exposing the upper teeth during a smile; a mimetic movement.
- Palpation
- Palpable medially adjacent to zygomaticus major over the zygomatic bone.
- Clinical
- Together with the zygomaticus major, determines how much of the upper teeth is visible during a smile, relevant in aesthetic and reconstructive analysis.
- Segmental innervation
- CN VII, motor.
- In clinical practice
- Assists upper lip elevation in smiling; crucial in planning reconstructive local flaps for midface defects.
- Region in the model
- Head and neck muscles (chewing, facial, and throat muscles)