Nasalis

Anatomy

Origin:
Transverse part: Maxilla just lateral to the nose.
Alar part: Maxilla over the lateral incisor.

Insertion:
Transverse part: Aponeurosis across the dorsum of the nose, with fibres from other side.
Alar part: Alar cartilage of the nose.

Key Relations:
Largest of the muscles in the nasal group.

Functions

Transverse part: Compresses the nasal aperture.
Alar part: Draws alar cartilages downwards and laterally thereby dilating the nasal aperture e.g. when flaring the nostrils..

Supply

Nerve Supply:
Zygomatic and buccal branches of the facial nerve (CN 7).

Blood Supply:
-Lateral nasal artery
–Angular artery.

Interested in taking our award-winning Pocket Anatomy app for a test drive?