amount of facial muscles in humans
Some claim it takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but open Aunt Milda's chain letter and you might be surprised to learn it takes 26 to smile and 62 to frown. And some naysayers claim it's quite the opposite, that in fact it takes more muscles to smile than to frown. There are 43 muscles in the face, most of which are controlled by the seventh cranial nerve (also known as the facial nerve). This nerve exits the cerebral cortex and emerges from your skull just in front of your ears. It then splits into five primary branches: temporal, zygomatic, buccal, mandibular and cervical. The muscles of the head and neck perform many important tasks, including movement of the head and neck, chewing and swallowing, speech, facial expressions, and movement of the eyes. These diverse tasks require both strong, forceful movements and some of the fastest, finest, and most delicate adjustments in the entire human body. The muscles of the face are unique among groups of muscles in the body. While most muscles connect to and move only bones, facial muscles mostly connect bones to skin.... Also, not everyone has the same number of facial muscles; some have more, enabling a wider range of expression, while some people actually have 40 percent fewer [source: Devlin]. The truth is that people smile -- and frown -- differently, even when presented with similar stimuli. The facial muscles are a group of striated skeletal muscles innervated by the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) that, among other things, control facial expression. These muscles are also called mimetic muscles. 1 Structure 1.1 Innervation. The human body is comprised of hundreds of muscles, about 640 in total. There is no exact count largely because expert opinions are conflicted regarding what constitutes a distinct muscle. Therefore, some experts will suggest 639 total while others may suggest there are more. This is a table of skeletal muscles of the human anatomy. There are over 600 skeletal muscles within the typical human body. Almost every muscle constitutes one part of a pair of identical bilateral muscles, found on both sides, resulting in approximately 320 pairs of muscles, as presented in this article. Muscles of the human body. The body has three types of muscles: smooth, skeletal and cardiac. Skeletal muscles are directly connected to the bones and enable body movements. The smallest muscle in the human body is located deep in the ear. In Depth: Superficial Muscles. The muscles of the face give it general form and contour, help you outwardly express your feelings, and enable you to chew your food. In addition to large muscles, areas of the face such as the cheeks have many smaller muscles that work when you do simple things such as smile, laugh, or cry. The large muscles of the face include: Orbicularis oculi: These muscles around your eye help you bat your eyes. Facial muscles. The facial muscles are a group of striated skeletal muscles innervated by the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) that, among other things, control facial expression. These muscles are also called mimetic muscles. Contents. 1 Structure 1.1 Innervation.
43