By contracting, the muscles pull on the skin and exert their effects. They are the only group of muscles that insert into skin. These muscles have a common embryonic origin — the 2nd pharyngeal arch. They migrate from the arch, taking their nerve supply with them. As such, all the muscles of facial expression are innervated by the facial nerve.
A knowledge of facial anatomy is vital to be able to reconstruct a face from a skull. This information is also available as a download at the bottom of this step and we will be watching a video showing each of these muscles as they are reconstructed in the next step, so you may find it useful to have this article as a reference. The large muscle of the forehead. Some experts omit this muscle when reconstructing the face as it is thin and they feel that it does not contribute significantly to the overall contours of the face. A thick-fan shaped muscle that closes the mouth and assists the jaw to move side-to-side to grind up food. This runs from the cheekbone to the lower jaw and brings the teeth back together to grind up food. The Masseter is the strongest muscle in the human body.
The facial muscles or muscles of facial expression are situated within the subcutaneous tissue and are responsible for the movements of skin folds, providing different facial expressions. The facial muscles originate from the bones of the facial skeleton viscerocranium and insert into the skin. The facial muscles are mostly grouped around the natural orifices of the face eyes, nose, mouth , taking part in the closing or widening of these orifices. The muscles in the calvaria region include the occipital and frontal bellies of the occipitofrontalis.
Facial Muscles: The Facial Muscles, and in particular those in the lips, help to shape the sound and air stream into recognizable speech. Visible in this image click on it , these muscles move the face in response to our thoughts, feelings, emotions and impulses. Actors work very carefully to learn how to isolate each muscle.