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# Mentalis

The mentalis is a small muscle in the chin; it wrinkles the chin skin and pushes the lower lip out, as in a pout.

Official name: Mentalis muscle

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## What it is

A small muscle in the chin.

## What it does

Wrinkles the chin and pushes the lower lip out (pout).

## Key points

- The only muscle that raises and pushes out the lower lip; it also lifts the soft tissue of the chin
- Supplied by the marginal mandibular branch of the [facial nerve](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/facial-nerve/), from its superficial surface
- Must be reattached after an intraoral approach to the chin, or the chin soft tissue sags («witch's chin»)

## Key facts

**Origin**
Incisive fossa of the mandible

**Insertion**
Skin of the chin

**Action**
Wrinkles the chin, pushes the lower lip out

**Nerve**
Facial nerve (CN VII): marginal mandibular branch

**Blood supply**
[Facial artery](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/facial-artery/) branches

## Relations

**Superficial**
[Skin](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/skin/) of the chin, firmly tied to the muscle, so it dimples when the muscle contracts

**Deep**
Incisive fossa of the [mandible](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/mandible/) below the lower incisor roots, and the bony chin

**Lateral**
[Depressor labii inferioris](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/depressor-labii-inferioris/); further out the [mental foramen](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/mental-foramen/) and the mental nerve

**Above**
Labial gingiva and the lower lip with the [orbicularis oris](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/orbicularis-oris-muscle/)

## How to find it

Asked to pout or push the lower lip out, the chin skin wrinkles and puckers over a firm pad on each side of the midline.

## Examination

- Pouting or wrinkling the chin; with the lower-lip depressor test it helps place a lesion on the marginal mandibular branch (both weak) or the cervical branch (mentalis spared)

## On imaging

Imaging is rarely needed for it. On CT or MRI it is a small paired muscle in the chin pad, in front of the mandibular symphysis and below the roots of the lower incisors. After a genioplasty or chin implant, CT shows the soft tissue in front of the symphysis, a collection or a displaced implant; a sagging chin after an intraoral approach is a clinical diagnosis.

## Clinical notes

- Strain of the mentalis to close the lips over protruding front teeth shows a dimpled «cobblestone» chin; it fades when the bite is corrected
- Intraoral incisions for symphysis fractures and genioplasty go through it; it is closed in layers to keep the chin from drooping
- Weakening by botulinum toxin injection is used for a dimpled chin; spread to the lower-lip depressors can cause lip asymmetry

## Development

Second pharyngeal arch muscle.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What is the unique action of the mentalis?

It is the only muscle that raises and pushes out the lower lip; it also lifts and wrinkles the chin soft tissue.

## Why must the mentalis be reattached after an intraoral approach to the chin?

Otherwise the chin soft tissue sags (witch's chin).

## What is the cobblestone chin?

A dimpled chin from mentalis strain when closing the lips over protruding front teeth; it fades when the bite is corrected.

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Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.

## Its names

**Official Latin (TA2)**
musculus mentalis TA2 2087

**Official Spanish (DeCS)**
Músculo mentoniano

**English (TA2)**
Mentalis muscle

## Related

- [Facial nerve (VII)](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/facial-nerve/)

Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); [Anatomy, Head and Neck: Facial Muscles](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493209/); [Anatomy, Head and Neck, Lips](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507900/).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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Source: https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/mentalis-muscle/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/mentalis-muscle/