Quick Facts
Origin: Occipital belly: supreme nuchal line of the occipital bone; Frontal belly: epicranial aponeurosis.
Insertion: Occipital belly: epicranial aponeurosis; Frontal belly: skin of eyebrows and root of nose.
Action: Occipital belly: draws scalp backwards; Frontal belly: raises eyebrows and wrinkles forehead.
Innervation: Posterior auricular nerve and temporal branches of facial nerve (CN VII).
Arterial Supply: Superficial temporal, ophthalmic, posterior auricular, and occipital arteries.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The occipitofrontalis muscle is composed of two muscular bellies divides by an epicranial aponeurosis. The occipital belly of the occipitofrontalis muscle arises from the supreme nuchal line of the occipital bone and may extend to the mastoid region of the temporal bone (Standring, 2016). The frontal belly of the occipitofrontalis muscle arises from the epicranial aponeurosis, near the coronal suture.
Insertion
The occipital belly of the occipitofrontalis muscle insert into the epicranial aponeurosis. The frontal bellies insert into the skin of the eyebrow and root of the nose. Its muscle fibers also blend with the surrounding muscles facial muscles, including procerus, corrugator supercilii, and orbicularis oculi (Standring, 2016).
Actions
The occipital belly of occipitofrontalis muscle draws the scalp backwards. The frontal belly raises the eyebrows and wrinkles the skin of the forehead (Standring, 2016).
References
Standring, S. (2016) Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. Gray's Anatomy Series 41st edn.: Elsevier Limited.
Learn more about this topic from other Elsevier products
Occipitofrontalis Muscle
The occipitofrontalis muscle attaches to the occiput and mastoid part of the temporal bone, the epicranial aponeurosis, and the temporal fascia attachment to the zygomatic arch.
