The corrugator supercilii muscle is a small, narrow, pyramidal muscle close to the eye. It arises from the medial end of the superciliary arch, and inserts into the deep surface of the

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

of the

eyebrow An eyebrow is an area of short hairs above each eye that follows the shape of the lower margin of the brow ridges of some mammals. In humans, eyebrows serve two main functions: first, communication through facial expression, and second, prev ...

. It draws the

downward and medially, producing the vertical wrinkles of the

forehead In human anatomy, the forehead is an area of the head bounded by three features, two of the skull and one of the scalp. The top of the forehead is marked by the hairline, the edge of the area where hair on the scalp grows. The bottom of the fo ...

Structure

The corrugator supercilii muscle is located at the medial end of the

, beneath the

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

and just above the orbicularis oculi muscle. It arises from the medial end of the superciliary arch. Its fibers pass upward and laterally, between the palpebral and orbital portions of the orbicularis oculi muscle. It inserts into the deep surface of the

of the

, above the middle of the orbital arch.

Relations

The supratrochlear nerve passes by the corrugator supercilii muscle between it and the

Function

The corrugator supercilii muscle draws the

downward and medially, producing the vertical wrinkles of the

. It is the " frowning" muscle, and may be regarded as the principal muscle in the expression of suffering. It also contracts to prevent high sun glare, pulling the eyebrows toward the bridge of the nose, making a roof over the area above the middle corner of the eye and typical forehead furrows."eye, human."Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD 2009

Clinical significance

The muscle is sometimes surgically severed or paralysed with

botulinum toxin Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum'' and related species. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endings at the neurom ...

as a preventive treatment for some types of

migraine Migraine (, ) is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headaches. Typically, the associated headache affects one side of the head, is pulsating in nature, may be moderate to severe in intensity, and could last from a few hou ...

or for aesthetic reasons.

Etymology

The name ''corrugator supercilii'' comes from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, and means ''wrinkler of the eyebrows''.

Additional images

File:Sobo 1909 261.png, Corrugator supercilii seen from the inside. File:Sobo 1909 262.png File:Sobo 1909 264.png File:Sobo 1909 266.png File:Corrugator supercilii muscle animation small.gif, Position of corrugator supercilii muscle (red) File:Gray134.png, Outer surface of

frontal bone The frontal bone is a bone in the human skull. The bone consists of two portions.'' Gray's Anatomy'' (1918) These are the vertically oriented squamous part, and the horizontally oriented orbital part, making up the bony part of the forehead, ...

. File: Gray379.png, Visible on upper portion of face.

References

{{Authority control Muscles of the head and neck