Where it is
In the thickness of the lips, around the opening of the mouth.
- Layer
- Muscles
- System
- Facial muscles
- Region
- Head
What it is and what it does
The orbicularis oris lies in the thickness of the lips, around the opening of the mouth, with no attachment to bone. In carnivores, the part in the upper lip is interrupted on the midline by a raphe, and in the dog the muscle is weakly developed. Each half is supplied separately by the facial nerve of its own side. The platysma, the cutaneous muscle of the neck, usually attaches to it.
Worth remembering
It is supplied by the facial nerve: when one half of the face “drops”, the lips on that side go slack.
Names
- Latin term: m. orbicularis oris.
- In Romanian: Orbicularul gurii (Romanian page).