Levator labii superioris

This section is about the
Muscles of Face and Neck

The levator labii superioris (also sometimes known as the proprius - especially in some older textbooks) is a thin facial muscle of a quadrilateral form located between the upper lip and the lower orbit of the eye on each side of the face.

The points of origin and insertion, and the actions of the levator labii superioris muscle:

Origin:	Lower margin of the orbit of the eye, immediately above the infraorbital foramen of the corresponding maxilla bone (there being a levator labii superioris muscle and a maxilla bone on each side of the face)
Insertion:	Muscular substance of the upper-lip
Action:	Raises facial skin tissue upwards from the upper lip on the corresponding of the face (there being a levator labii superioris muscle on both sides of the face)

The levator labii superioris is one of the muscles of the head, neck, and face taught as part of many courses in Indian Head Massage. As this is a popular therapy we have included several pages that may be of interest to students of Indian Head Massage. See, for example, the page about skeletal structures of the head and neck.

See the page about Facial Muscles to view the location of the levator labii superioris muscle. (This page consists of an interactive, rather than just a labelled, diagram, so you'll have to test yourself by guessing which muscle is the levator labii superioris until you find the correct label.)

More about Muscles:

The structure of muscle tissue and the structure of muscle cells
Labelled diagrams of the muscles in different parts of the body including anterior muscles, posterior muscles and facial muscles
Various other pages about e.g. types of muscle contractions, movements at joints, muscular disorders and related topics such as books about sports medicine

Click for pages about muscles

Levator labii superioris

The points of origin and insertion, and the actions of the levator labii superioris muscle:

In the News: