Muscle · Head

Zygomaticus minor

Musculus zygomaticus minor

A slender strap running down and forward from the cheekbone into the upper lip, just in front of its larger namesake. Where the major muscle pulls the corner of the mouth up and out into a smile, the minor one lifts the body of the upper lip itself and deepens the fold from the nose to the mouth — the difference between grinning and baring the upper teeth. The two are frequently continuous with each other and with the eye's ring muscle above, so the boundaries drawn in an atlas are cleaner than the ones in a face.