Occipitalis muscle

Occipitalis muscle

Muscles of the face and neck (occipitalis muscle visible at center right in red)

Occipital bone. Outer surface (red circle at upper right is for occipitalis)
Details
Latin Venter occipitalis musculi occipitofrontalis
Superior nuchal line of the occipital bone and mastoid process of the temporal bone
Galea aponeurosis
Occipital artery
Posterior auricular nerve (facial nerve)
Actions Moves the scalp back
Identifiers
Gray's p.379
Dorlands
/Elsevier		 m_22/12549942
TA A04.1.03.005
FMA 46758
Anatomical terms of muscle

The occipitalis muscle (occipital belly) is a muscle which covers parts of the skull. Some sources consider the occipital muscle to be a distinct muscle. However, Terminologia Anatomica currently classifies it as part of the occipitofrontalis muscle along with the frontalis muscle.

The occipitalis muscle is thin and quadrilateral in form. It arises from tendinous fibers from the lateral two-thirds of the superior nuchal line of the occipital bone and from the mastoid process of the temporal and ends in the galea aponeurotica.[1]

The occipitalis muscle is innervated by the facial nerve and its function is to move the scalp back.[2] The muscles receives blood from the occipital artery.

Additional image

See also

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

  1. ↑ Stone, Robert & Judith (2000). Atlas of skeletal muscles. McGraw-Hill. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-07-290332-4.
  2. ↑ Drake, Richard L.; Vogl, A. Wayne; Mitchell, Adam W. M. (2010). Gray´s Anatomy for Students (2nd ed.). p. 857. ISBN 978-0-443-06952-9.

External links