The corrugator supercilii muscle is a small, narrow, pyramidal muscle of the face. It arises from the medial end of the superciliary arch; it 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 Supraorbital ridge, brow ridges of some mammals. In humans, eyebrows serve two main functions: first, human communication, communication thro ...

. It draws the

downward and medially, producing the vertical "frowning" 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 ...

. It may be thought as the principal muscle in the facial expression of suffering. It also shields the eyes from strong sunlight.

Structure

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

. Its fibers pass laterally and somewhat superiorly from its origin to its insertion.

Origin

It arises from bone at the medial extremity of the superciliary arch.

Insertion

It inserts between the palpebral and orbital portions of the

orbicularis oculi muscle The orbicularis oculi is a Sphincter, sphincter-like muscle in the face that closes the eyelids. It arises from the nasal part of the frontal bone, from the frontal process of the maxilla in front of the lacrimal groove, and from the anterior surf ...

. It inserts into the deep surface of the

of the

, above the middle of the orbital arch.

Innervation

Motor innervation is provided by the temporal branches of facial nerve (CN VII).

Vasculature

The muscle receives arterial supply from adjacent arteries - mostly from the

superficial temporal artery In human anatomy, the superficial temporal artery is a major artery of the head. It arises from the external carotid artery when it splits into the superficial temporal artery and maxillary artery. Its pulse can be felt above the zygomatic ar ...

, and the

ophthalmic artery The ophthalmic artery (OA) is an artery of the head. It is the first branch of the internal carotid artery distal to the cavernous sinus. Branches of the ophthalmic artery supply all the structures in the orbit around the eye, as well as some ...

Relations

It is situated deep to the frontalis muscle (of the occipitofrontalis muscle) and

, Its fibres are situated between the palpebral and orbital portions of the

. The supratrochlear nerve passes between this muscle and the frontalis muscle.

Function

The muscle acts in tandem with the

. The corrugator supercilii muscle acts upon the skin of the forehead superior to the middle of the

supraorbital margin The brow ridge, or supraorbital ridge known as superciliary arch in medicine, is a bony ridge located above the eye sockets of all primates and some other animals. In humans, the Eyebrow, eyebrows are located on their lower margin. Structure The ...

, drawing the

inferomedially to produce vertical wrinkles of the

just superior to the nose. 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 An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

2009 to shield the eye from excessively bright sunlight.

Clinical significance

The muscle is sometimes surgically severed or paralysed with

botulinum toxin Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (commonly called botox), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum'' and related species. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon en ...

as a preventive treatment for some types of

migraine Migraine (, ) is a complex neurological disorder characterized by episodes of moderate-to-severe headache, most often unilateral and generally associated with nausea, and light and sound sensitivity. Other characterizing symptoms may includ ...

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 spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, 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 In the human skull, the frontal bone or sincipital bone is an unpaired bone which consists of two portions.'' Gray's Anatomy'' (1918) These are the vertically oriented squamous part, and the horizontally oriented orbital part, making up the bo ...

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

References

{{Authority control Muscles of the head and neck