Zygomaticus Major
The zygomaticus major muscles are located in the cheek and extend from the ears across the face almost as far as the nearest corner of the mouth.
The points of origin and insertion, and the actions of the zygomaticus major muscle:
| Origin: | Upper lateral surface of the zygomatic bone |
| Insertion: | Skin at the angle of the mouth and the orbicularis oris muscle. |
| Action: | Draws the angle of the mouth upward and outward, such as when laughing or smiling. |
The zygomaticus major are muscles located in the region of the of the head, neck, or 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 zygomaticus major muscles. (This page consists of an interactive, rather than just a labelled, diagram, so you'll have to test yourself by guessing which muscles are the zygomaticus major muscles 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
- Anterior Muscles
- Posterior Muscles
- Facial Muscles
- Muscle Terminology (Definitions)
- 1. Structure of Muscle
- 2. Structure of Muscle Cells
- 3. Muscle Filaments
- 4. Sliding Filament Theory
- 5. Neuromuscular Junction
- 6. Actions at Neuromuscular Junction
- Types of Muscle Contractions
- Muscular Disorders
- Effects of exercise on muscles
