The muscle fibers encountered next in an anteroposterior direction through the eyelid belong to the palpebral part of the orbicularis oculi (Fig. 8.77). This muscle is part of the larger orbicularis oculi muscle, which consists primarily of two parts—an orbital part, which surrounds the orbit, and the palpebral part, which is in the eyelids. The orbicularis oculi is innervated by the facial nerve [VII] and closes the eyelids.