Superior auricular muscle

Superior auricular muscle
Face and neck muscles. Superior auricular muscle shown in red.
The muscles of the auricula. Superior auricular is at top (indicated by the red arrow).
Details
Origin	Temporal fascia
Insertion	Above the auricle of the outer ear
Artery	Posterior auricular artery
Nerve	Branches to auricular muscle from posterior auricular nerve of facial nerve (cranial nerve VII)
Actions	Pulls ear upward
Identifiers
Latin	musculus auricularis superior
TA98	A04.1.03.021
TA2	2090
FMA	46855
Anatomical terms of muscle [ edit on Wikidata]

The superior auricular muscle is a muscle above the auricle of the outer ear. It originates from the epicranial aponeurosis, and inserts into the upper part of the medial surface of the auricle. It draws the auricle upwards.

Structure

The superior auricular muscle originates from the epicranial aponeurosis. ^[1] Its fibres converge to be inserted by a thin, flattened tendon into the upper part of the medial surface of the auricle of the outer ear. ^[1]

It is the largest of the three auriculares muscles. ^[1] It is thin and fan-shaped.

Nerve supply

The superior auricular muscle is supplied by the temporal branch of the facial nerve (VII). ^{[1] [2]}

Function

Research on electromyographic signals in humans suggests the superior auricular muscle has a vestigial role linked to attempts to separate different sound sources. ^[3]

Additional images

• 
  Auricula in context. Superior auricular shown in red.

See also

• Anterior auricular muscle
• Posterior auricular muscle

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 1035 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

1. Barral, Jean-Pierre; Croibier, Alain (2009). "25 - Ear". Manual therapy for the cranial nerves. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone / Elsevier. doi:10.1016/B978-0-7020-3100-7.50028-8. ISBN   978-0-7020-3736-8. OCLC   460904284.
2. Rea, Paul (2016). "2 - Head". Essential clinically applied anatomy of the peripheral nervous system in the head and neck. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science. pp. 21–130. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-803633-4.00002-8. ISBN   978-0-12-803664-8. OCLC   939866688.
3. Schroeer, Andreas; Corona-Strauss, Farah I.; Hannemann, Ronny; Hackley, Steven A.; Strauss, Daniel J. (2025). "Electromyographic correlates of effortful listening in the vestigial auriculomotor system". Frontiers in Neuroscience. 18. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1462507 . ISSN   1662-453X.