Procerus muscle

Procerus
Muscles of the head, face, and neck. (Procerus visible at upper left, at top of nose.)
Latin	musculus procerus, pyramidalis nasi, depressor glabellae
Gray's	subject #107 382
Origin	From fascia over the lower of the nasal bone
Insertion	Into the skin of the lower part of the forehead between the eyebrows
Artery	facial artery
Nerve	Buccal Branch of the facial nerve
Actions	Draws down the medial angle of the eyebrow giving expressions of frowning

The Procerus is a small pyramidal slip of muscle deep to the superior orbital nerve, artery and vein.

Origin and insertion

It arises by tendinous fibers from the fascia covering the lower part of the nasal bone and upper part of the lateral nasal cartilage.

It is inserted into the skin over the lower part of the forehead between the two eyebrows on either side of the midline, its fibers merging with those of the Frontalis. ^[1]

Function

It helps to pull that part of the skin between the eyebrows downwards, which assists in flaring the nostrils.

It can also contribute to an expression of anger.

Procerus is supplied by temporal and lower zygomatic branches from the facial nerve (a supply from the buccal branch has been described)^[2] . Its contraction can produce transverse wrinkles.

References

1. ^ "eye, human."Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD 2009
2. ^ "Nose, nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses" CHAPTER 32. Gray's Anatomy

External links

• LUC pro
• -1268055984 at GPnotebook
• Procerus+muscle at eMedicine Dictionary

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.