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[Muscular system](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/system/muscular-system/) · [Head and neck](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/region/head-and-neck/)

# Procerus

The procerus is a small muscle over the bridge of the nose; it pulls the skin between the eyebrows down, making horizontal lines there.

Official name: Procerus muscle

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## What it is

A small muscle over the bridge of the nose.

## What it does

Makes the horizontal lines between the eyebrows.

## Key points

- Makes the horizontal creases at the root of the nose and pulls the medial brow down; with the corrugator it forms the glabellar complex
- Continuous above with the frontalis, its antagonist: one lowers the brow, the other raises it
- Supplied by upper branches of the [facial nerve](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/facial-nerve/) (texts differ: temporal, zygomatic or buccal)

## Key facts

**Origin**
Nasal bone and upper lateral nasal cartilage

**Insertion**
Skin between the eyebrows

**Action**
Pulls the eyebrows down (horizontal lines at the root of the nose)

**Nerve**
Facial nerve (CN VII): temporal and zygomatic branches (some texts: zygomatic and buccal)

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

## Relations

**Superficial**
[Skin](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/skin/) of the glabella between the eyebrows

**Deep**
[Nasal bones](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/nasal-bone/) and the upper lateral [nasal cartilages](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/major-alar-cartilage/)

**Above**
Medial fibres of the [frontalis](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/occipitofrontalis-muscle/)

**Lateral**
[Corrugator supercilii](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/corrugator-supercilii/) and the medial part of the [orbicularis oculi](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/orbital-part-of-orbicularis-oculi/)

**Below**
Transverse part of the [nasalis](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/nasalis-muscle/) on the nasal bridge

## How to find it

Asked to frown or wrinkle the top of the nose (as at a bad smell), horizontal lines form across the bridge of the nose between the eyes.

## Examination

- Frowning or wrinkling the nasal root: absent creases on one side fit a weak upper facial nerve on that side

## On imaging

Not usually imaged: on CT or MRI it is a thin soft-tissue layer over the nasal bones at the glabella, continuous above with the frontalis. Imaging here looks at what lies beneath: CT shows [frontal sinus](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/sinus-of-frontal-bone/) and nasal bone fractures after a blow to the glabella, and CT or MRI studies a midline lump at the root of the nose in a child, such as a dermoid, for a tract toward the skull base.

## Clinical notes

- Botulinum toxin injection for the glabellar lines treats procerus and corrugator together; spread can cause temporary eyelid drooping
- Brow-lift surgery weakens or divides it to reduce downward pull on the medial brow

## Development

Second pharyngeal arch muscle; it is continuous with the frontalis because both come from the same sheet of second-arch muscle.

## Memory aid

Procerus «pulls the brow down»: horizontal lines; corrugator «crinkles» the brow: vertical lines.

## Test yourself

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

## Which skin creases does the procerus produce, and how does it move the brow?

Horizontal creases at the root of the nose; it pulls the medial brow down, forming the glabellar complex with the corrugator.

## Which muscle is continuous with the procerus above and acts as its antagonist?

The frontalis: the procerus lowers the brow and the frontalis raises it.

## Which nerve supplies the procerus?

The facial nerve (CN VII), by its upper branches; texts differ on whether these are temporal, zygomatic or buccal.

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

## Its names

**Official Latin (TA2)**
musculus procerus TA2 2061

**Official Spanish (DeCS)**
Músculo prócer

**English (TA2)**
Procerus muscle

**Also called**
Santorini's muscle · depressor glabellae · musculus depressor glabellae

## Related

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

Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); [Anatomy, Head and Neck, Procerus Muscle](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534763/); Anatomy of the Human Body (20th ed.): Development of the Muscles (Lea & Febiger (Gray's Anatomy, 1918), 1918) · adapted, Public domain.

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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