The muscles of the head and neck perform many important tasks, including movement of the head and neck, chewing and swallowing, speech, facial expressions, and movement of the eyes. These diverse tasks require both strong, forceful movements and some of the fastest, finest, and most delicate adjustments in the entire human body. The muscles of the face are unique among groups of muscles in the body. While most muscles connect to and move only bones, facial muscles mostly connect bones to skin. image: commons.wikimedia.org These muscle s, including the zygomaticus major and orbicularis oris, pull on the skin to produce a seemingly infinite number of facial expressions and to move the lips and cheeks during speech and eating. Producing the body’s ability to close the mouth, bite, and chew food, the muscles of mastication move the mandible relative to the rest of the skull. These muscles, including the masseter and temporalis, elevate the jaw forcefully during chewing and gentl