Origin Maxilla Artery Superior labial artery | Insertion Nasal bone Latin musculus nasalis | |
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Nerve Buccal branch of the facial nerve Actions Compresses bridge, depresses tip of nose, elevates corners of nostrils |
The nasalis is a sphincter-like muscle of the nose whose function is to compress the nasal cartilages. It is the muscle responsible for "flaring" of the nostrils. Some people can use it to close the nostrils to prevent entry of water when underwater.
It consists of two parts, transverse and alar:
References
Nasalis muscle Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA