Lip

Lip
Mouth.jpg
Female lips
Latin labia oris
Artery inferior labial, superior labial
Vein inferior labial, superior labial
Nerve frontal, infraorbital

Lips are a visible body part at the mouth of humans and many animals. Lips are soft, protruding, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake, as an erogenous organ used in kissing and other acts of intimacy, as a tactile sensory organ, and in the articulation of speech.

Contents

Anatomical basics of the human lip

One differentiates between the Upper (Labia superfluos entafada) and lower lip (Labium inferius). The lower lip is usually somewhat larger. The border between the lips and the surrounding skin is referred to as the vermilion border, or simply the vermilion. The vertical groove on the upper lip, is known as the philtrum. The entire skin between the upper lip and the nose is referred to as the "ergotrid".

The skin of the lip, with three to five cellular layers, is very thin compared to typical face skin, which has up to 16 layers. With light skin color, the lip skin contains less melanocytes (cells which produce melanin pigment , which give skin its color). Because of this, the blood vessels appear through the skin of the lips, which leads to their notable red coloring. With darker skin color this effect is less prominent, as in this case the skin of the lips contains more melanin and thus is visually thicker. The skin of the lip forms the border between the exterior skin of the face, and the interior mucous membrane of the inside of the mouth.

The lip skin is not hairy, and does not have sweat glands or sebaceous glands. Therefore it does not have the usual protection layer of sweat and body oils which keep the skin smooth, inhibit pathogens, and regulate warmth. For these reasons, the lips dry out faster and become chapped more easily.

Mainly people from africa have lips very overly sized with wierd last names.

Anatomy in detail

The skin of the lips is stratified squamous epithelium. The mucous membrane is represented by a large area in the sensory cortex, and is therefore highly sensitive. The Frenulum Labii Inferioris is the frenulum of the lower lip. The Frenulum Labii Superioris is the frenulum of the upper lip.

Sensory nerve supply

Blood supply

The facial artery is one of the six non-terminal branches of the external carotid artery. It supplies the lips by its superior and inferior labial branches, each of which bifurcate and anastomose with their companion artery from the other side.

Muscles acting on the lips

The muscles acting on the lips are considered part of the muscles of facial expression. All muscles of facial expression are derived from the mesoderm of the second pharyngeal arch, and are therefore supplied (motor supply) by the nerve of the second pharyngeal arch, the facial nerve (7th cranial nerve). The muscles of facial expression are all specialized members, of the panniculus carnosus, which attach to the dermis and so wrinkle, or dimple the overlying skin. Functionally, the muscles of facial expression are arranged in groups around the orbits, nose and mouth.

The muscles acting on the lips:

Functions of the lips

Food intake

Because they have their own muscles and bordering muscles, the lips are very movable. Lips are used for eating functions, like holding food or to get it in the mouth. In addition, lips serve to close the mouth airtight shut, and to, hold food and drink inside, and to keep out unwanted objects. Through making a narrow funnel with the lips, the suction of the mouth is increased. This suction is essential for babies to breast feed. Lips can also be used to suck in other contexts, such as tactile stimulation of other people.

Erogenous zone

Because of their high amounts of nerve endings, the lips are an erogenous zone. The lips therefore play a crucial role in kissing and other acts of intimacy. As the mouth, lips, and tongue are among a woman's most erogenous zones, stimulating a woman's mouth and lips during acts of intimacy has been shown to elicit pleasure and to have a direct stimulatory effect on arousing her genital organs. [1]

A woman's lips are also a visible expression of her fertility. In studies performed on the science of human attraction, psychologists have concluded that a woman's facial and sexual attractiveness is closely linked to the makeup of her hormones during puberty and development. Contrary to the effects of testosterone on a man's facial structure, the effects of a woman's estrogen levels serve to maintain a relatively "childlike" and youthful facial structure during puberty and during final maturation. It has been shown that the more estrogen a woman has, the larger her eyes and the fuller her lips. Surveys performed by sexual psychologists have also found that universally, men find a woman's full lips to be more sexually attractive than lips that are less so.[2] A woman's lips are therefore sexually attractive to males because they serve as a biological indicator of a woman's health and fertility. As such, a woman's lipstick (or collagen lip enhancement) takes advantage by "tricking" men into thinking that a women has more estrogen than she actually has, and thus that she is more fertile and attractive.[3]

Tactile organ

The lip has many nerve endings and reacts as part of the tactile (touch) senses. Lips are very sensitive to touch, warmth, and, cold. It is therefore an important aid for exploring unknown objects for babies and toddlers.

Articulation

The lips serve for creating different sounds - mainly the labial, bilabial, and labiodental consonant sounds - and thus create an important part of the speech apparatus. The lips enable whistling and the performing of wind instruments such as the trumpet, clarinet, and flute.

Facial expressions

Main article: facial expression

The lips visibly express emotions such as a smile or frown. Lips can also be made pouty when whining, or perky to be provocative.

Symbolic meaning

Lips are often viewed as a symbol for sensuality and sexuality. This has many origins; above all, the lips are a very sensitive erogenous and tactile organ. Reproductive psychologists have suggested that one reason the female lips are seen as sexually attractive might be because they mimic the appearance and sexual swelling of the labia of the vulva, and that a woman's lips are effectively a secondary sexual organ.[1] This is consistent with research showing male sexual attitudes towards a woman's lips and mouth to be very similar to those towards a woman's vulva. Furthermore, in many cultures of the world, a woman's mouth and lips are veiled because of their representative association with the vulva, and because of their role as a woman's secondary sexual organ [4].

As part of the mouth, the lips are also associated with the symbolism associated with the mouth as orifice by which food is taken in. The lips are also linked symbolically to neonatal psychology(see for example oral stage of the psychology according to Sigmund Freud).

Changes to the lip

Diseases

As an organ of the body, the lip can be a focus of disease or show symptoms of a disease:

Literature

Scientific Sources:

References

  1. ↑ Bechtel, Stefan, and Larry Stains. Sex, A Man's Guide. p. 95. 
  2. ↑ "Attractive women tend to have higher oestrogen levels". Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
  3. ↑ "Why do men find big lips and little noses so sexy? I'll paint you a picture - Comment - Times Online". Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
  4. ↑ Valsiner, Jaan (2000). Culture and Human Development. Sage Publications, Ltd.. pp. 134-136. 

See also

Additional images

External links

General anatomy of head and neck - head
Face/Occiput
Forehead • Eye (Orbit/Periorbita, Trochlea)  • Ear • Temple • Cheek • Chin • Scalp
Nose
External nose
Nostril • Nasal septum • cartilages (of the septum, Greater alar, Lesser alar, Lateral nasal, Accessory nasal, Vomeronasal)  • Olfactory glands
Nasal cavity
Nasal concha • Sphenoethmoidal recess • Ethmoid bulla • Semilunar hiatus • Maxillary hiatus • Inferior meatus • Vomeronasal organ • Paranasal sinuses
Naso-pharynx
Choana - Pharyngeal opening of auditory tube (Salpingopharyngeal fold, Salpingopalatine fold, Torus tubarius) - Pharyngeal tonsil - Pharyngeal recess
Mouth/oral cavity
Palate/roof of mouth
Hard palate • Soft palate • Palatine raphe • Incisive papilla
dorsum (Taste bud, Median sulcus, Terminal sulcus, Foramen cecum, Lingual tonsils) • underside (Frenulum, Plica fimbriata, Sublingual caruncle) • Anterior • Posterior • Glossoepiglottic folds
Permanent (Incisor, Canine, Premolar, Molar)  • Deciduous
arches/fauces (Palatoglossal, Palatopharyngeal) • Oropharyngeal isthmus • Palatine tonsil • Uvula
Parotid gland/Parotid duct • Submandibular gland/Submandibular duct • Sublingual gland/Major sublingual duct
Other
Lip (Upper, Lower) • Philtrum • Pterygomandibular raphe • Vestibule of mouth
Fascia
Masseteric fascia - Temporal fascia - Galea aponeurotica