Lips

The outer lip is characterized by a cutaneous portion (prolabium or philtrum) and a semi-mucosal portion (vermilion). The prominences that characterize the lip include the Cupid's bow, the philtral columns of the prolabium, and the labial tubercles (the medial tubercle superiorly and the two slight tubercles accompanying the medial depression inferiorly). The upper lip is slightly longer than the lower one, and the volume of both decreases from the medial to the lateral portion.

Extraoral Anatomy of the Lip

The intraoral mucosa adjacent to the gingival fornix has two frenula, the upper and the lower (Superior Labial Frenulum and Inferior Labial Frenulum). The muscle of the mouth is the orbicularis oris and has sphincteric capabilities. Mimic muscles also insert into the lip and are classified based on their function of elevating or depressing the lip.

Aesthetic Canon of the Lip

The ideal female lip is characterized by well everted and present mucosa, plump but never tense. The prolabium should not be so long as to decrease tooth exposure when smiling, nor so short that, when smiling, the teeth are excessively exposed, or worse, the gums are exposed. The prominences (Cupid’s bow and philtrum) should be well defined but never surpass the mucosa (duck lip).

The male lip is thinner than the female’s, less fleshy, and with less pronounced prominences. The shape and volume of the lip undergo significant racial variations. In the Negroid race, the vermilion and philtral columns are well-defined, and the orbicularis oris muscle, which determines lip volume, is well-represented, resulting in an imposing lip volume. In the Indochinese race and similarly in Nordic races, the lip tends to be thin, and the vermilion is less prominent.

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