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Occipitofrontalis muscle (anatomy)

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Occipitofrontalis is one of the muscles of scalp. It arises from two distinct parts:

  • occipital part; originates from the:
    • lateral two-thirds of highest nuchal line of occipital bone
    • mastoid part of temporal bone
  • frontal part; originates from the superior fibres of the superior facial muscles including:
    • procerus
    • corrugator supercilii
    • orbicularis oculi

Both parts ascend to insert into the galea aponeurotica over the scalp.

Innervation is from the facial nerve (CN VII):

  • occipital part from the posterior auricular branch
  • frontal part from the temporal branches

The actions of occipitofrontalis are:

  • occipital part; weakly moves the scalp skin posteriorly
  • frontal part:
    • weakly moves the scalp skin anteriorly
    • wrinkles the forehead
    • elevates the eybrows

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