title: Medial muscular band of the orbicularis oculi muscle.
abstract: Despite the importance of anatomic variations in the muscular bands around the orbicularis oculi muscle (OOc), little is known about them. The morphology and variations therein of the medial muscular band of the OOc were thus examined in the current study. Sixty-one hemifaces of Korean cadavers were dissected to enable examination of the anatomic organization of the muscles around the OOc. A medial muscular band of the OOc was observed in 40 cases (65.6%). Three patterns of attachment were found. In type A (14 cases, 23%), it attached to the frontal belly without being attached to the medial canthal tendon; in type B (14 cases, 23%), it originated from the medial canthal tendon at the lower portion of the OOc and inserted into the cheek skin, and in type C (12 cases, 19.7%), it was also observed to insert into the cheek skin and attach to the frontal belly without being attached to the medial canthal tendon. The distance between the inferior edge of the OOc and the subnasale was 16.3 (SD, 4.3) mm and 14.5 (SD, 4.4) mm in cases with and without a medial muscular band, respectively. A space was observed on the inferolateral side of the OOc in about 67.2% of cases. These findings regarding the medial muscular band of the OOc increase further the anatomic variations associated with this region. In addition, it appears that this medial muscular band of the OOc can help to prevent drooping of the OOc.
authors.affiliation: Division in Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Department of Oral Biology, Human Identification Research Center, Brain Korea 21 Project, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Tae
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Kwan-Hyun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Youn
authors.forename: Jae-Gi
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyun-Ho
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.forename: Kyung-Seok
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Hee-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002102:Cadaver; D002508:Cephalometry; D002610:Cheek / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005143:Eyelids / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005152:Facial Muscles / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology; D009666:Nose / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009915:Orbit / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012867:Skin / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013710:Tendons / Q000033:anatomy & histology