Occipitalis muscle

Occipitalis muscle

Muscles of the face and neck (occipitalis muscle visible at center right in red)
Details
Origin Superior nuchal line of the occipital bone and mastoid process of the temporal bone
Insertion Galea aponeurosis
Artery Occipital artery
Nerve Posterior auricular nerve (facial nerve)
Actions Moves the scalp back
Identifiers
Latin Venter occipitalis musculi occipitofrontalis
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.
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