Orbicularis Oris muscle

Authors

Affiliations

Nate Yomogida, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.S. in Kinesiology

Chloë Kerstein, B.S., SPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy

B.A. in Neuroscience

Figure 1: Muscles of Facial expression¹

Muscle	Origin	Insertion	Nerve	Action
Orbicularis Oris	/The Archive/Anatomy/Skeletal Muscles/Head and Neck/Muscles of Facial Expression/orbicularis_oris.html#origin	/The Archive/Anatomy/Skeletal Muscles/Head and Neck/Muscles of Facial Expression/orbicularis_oris.html#insertion	?var:ref-orbicularis-oris.nerve	/The Archive/Anatomy/Skeletal Muscles/Head and Neck/Muscles of Facial Expression/orbicularis_oris.html#action

Origin

Deep surface of skin; Superiorly: maxilla (median plane); Inferiorly: mandible²

Insertion

Mucous membrane of lips²

Innervation

Facial Nerve CN VII²

Action

Acts as oral sphincter:²

• Compresses and protrudes lips (whistling, sucking, kissing)²
• Resists distension (when blowing)²

Clinical Significance

1.

Betts JG, Blaker W. Anatomy and Physiology. 2nd ed. OpenStax; 2022. https://openstax.org/details/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/?Book%20details

2.

Gilroy AM, MacPherson BR, Wikenheiser JC, Voll MM, Wesker K, Schünke M, eds. Atlas of Anatomy. 4th ed. Thieme; 2020.