Nasalis muscle

Nasalis muscle
Muscles of the head, face, and neck. (Nasalis labeled at center left.)
Details
Origin	Maxilla
Insertion	Nasal bone
Artery	Superior labial artery
Nerve	Buccal branch of the facial nerve
Actions	Compresses bridge, depresses tip of nose, elevates corners of nostrils
Identifiers
Latin	musculus nasalis
TA	A04.1.03.009
FMA	46770
Anatomical terms of muscle []

The nasalis is a sphincter-like muscle of the nose whose function is to compress the nasal cartilages. It is the muscle responsible for "flaring" of the nostrils. Some people can use it to close the nostrils to prevent entry of water when underwater.

It consists of two parts, transverse and alar:

Position of nasalis muscle (shown in red).

Left maxilla. Outer surface.