The nasalis is a nasal muscle of facial expression. It is the largest of the nasal muscles and is comprised of two parts: transverse and alar.
- Attachments:
- Transverse part – originates from the maxilla, immediately lateral to the nose. It attaches onto an aponeurosis across the dorsum of the nose.
- Alar part – originates from the maxilla overlying the lateral incisor. It attaches to the alar cartilage of the nasal skeleton.
- Actions:
- Transverse part – compresses the nasal opening
- Alar part – widens the nasal opening.
- Innervation – Buccal branches of the facial nerve.
- Blood Supply – Facial artery and infraorbital branch of maxillary artery.
By TeachMeSeries Ltd (2024)
Fig 1 – The nasal muscles of facial expression. Note the nasalis muscle is comprised of two parts.