The broad muscle that covers the scalp is called what?

• A. Epicranius
• B. Frontalis
• C. Occipitalis
• D. Temporalis

Answer: (A)

The scalp is covered by a broad muscle called the epicranius, a muscle mass that spans over the top of the skull and is made up of two parts—the frontalis in the forehead and the occipitalis at the back—connected by the galea aponeurotica, a flat tendon-like sheet. This combination forms the overall scalp muscle. The frontalis raises the eyebrows and wrinkles the forehead, while the occipitalis pulls the scalp backward. Sometimes this whole group is referred to as the occipitofrontalis. The other muscles listed are more region-specific: frontalis is the forehead muscle, occipitalis is the back-of-head muscle, and temporalis is involved in chewing. So the broad muscle that covers the scalp is epicranius because it describes the entire scalp muscle mass.