Tendon of levator palpebrae superioris at a glance
- What it is
- The flattened tendon (aponeurosis) of the muscle that raises the upper eyelid.
- Location
- Extends from the muscle belly, which arises from the lesser wing of the sphenoid, to the upper tarsal plate and skin of the upper eyelid.
- Function
- Raises the upper eyelid.
- Body system
- Muscular · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA54159 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Innervation of the muscle: oculomotor nerve (CN III), with sympathetic supply to the superior tarsal muscle
- The aponeurosis widens across the eyelid; its lateral horn divides the lacrimal gland into orbital and palpebral parts.
- Whitnall's ligament, a fascial band above it, acts as a pulley that redirects its pull.
Clinical relevance
Thinning or detachment of the aponeurosis with age is the commonest cause of acquired (aponeurotic) ptosis.
Structures next to the tendon of levator palpebrae superioris
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Tarsal plate of upper eyelid · eye & ear
- Lacrimal gland · eye & ear
- Lens · eye & ear
- Corona ciliaris · eye & ear
- Suspensory ligament of lens · skeletal
- Iris · eye & ear
- Anterior chamber of eyeball · eye & ear
- Cornea · eye & ear
- Choroid · eye & ear
- Sclera · eye & ear
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Tendon of levator palpebrae superioris (FMA54159). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
- 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.