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Platysma: anatomy, location and function

A thin superficial sheet of muscle in the subcutaneous tissue of the neck. Depresses the mandible and the corner of the mouth and tenses the skin of the neck.

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Structures

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Highlighted in the model: Platysma. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Platysma at a glance

What it is
A thin superficial sheet of muscle in the subcutaneous tissue of the neck.
Location
Arises from the fascia over the upper pectoral and deltoid regions and inserts onto the lower border of the mandible, the skin of the lower face and the angle of the mouth.
Function
Depresses the mandible and the corner of the mouth and tenses the skin of the neck.
Body system
Muscular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA45740 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Innervation: cervical branch of the facial nerve (CN VII)
  • A muscle of facial expression despite its position in the neck

Structures next to the platysma

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Platysma (FMA45740). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.