Mental muscle

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Mental muscle
Mentalis.png
origin
Lower jaw
approach
Skin of the chin
function
Wrinkles of the chin
Innervation
Facial nerve

The mentalis muscle or chin muscle is a skin muscle of the head. It arises from the front part of the lower jaw and radiates into the skin of the chin . As a facial muscle , it wrinkles the chin and pushes the lower lip upwards. In humans, this facial expression is mainly found in displeasure and doubt, which is why the muscle is also known as the "pout muscle". The muscle is innervated by the seventh cranial nerve , the facial nerve (VII).

A genetic disorder on chromosome 9 locus q13-q21 leads to involuntary twitching of the mentalis muscle ( geniospasm ). This malfunction, harmless in itself, is primarily of social significance.

An involuntary contraction of the mentalis muscle when brushing the ball of the thumb ( thenar ) on the same side is understood as a primitive reflex (so-called palmomental reflex ) and is associated with atrophic brain processes (including dementia ).

In cats, the tear of the chin is a fairly common injury. This results in the muscle and the overlying skin becoming detached.

supporting documents

  1. Jarman PR, Wood NW, Davis MT, et al : Hereditary geniospasm: linkage to chromosome 9q13-q21 and evidence for genetic heterogeneity . In: Am. J. Hum. Genet. . 61, No. 4, 1997, pp. 928-33. PMID 9382105 .

Web links

  • Entry on Musculus mentalis in Flexikon , a wiki of the DocCheck company (Aimierter muscle with skin that can be faded and faded out)