What are human lips?
A: Human lips are the visible body part at the mouth of humans and many
other animals.
Lips are soft, movable, and serve as what?
A: The opening for
food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech.
Human lips are a tactile sensory organ and can be what?
A: An erogenous zone when used in kissing and other acts of intimacy.
The upper and lower lips are referred to as what?
A: The "Labium superius oris" and "Labium inferius oris", respectively.
The juncture where the lips meet the surrounding
skin
of the mouth area is the what?
A: The vermilion border.
The typically reddish area within the borders is called
what?
A: The vermilion zone.
The vermilion border of the upper lip is known as what?
A: The cupid's bow.
The fleshy protuberance located in the center of the upper lip is what?
A: A tubercle known by various terms including the procheilon (also spelled prochilon), the "tuberculum labii superioris", and the "labial tubercle".
The vertical groove extending from the procheilon to
the nasal septum is called what?
A: The philtrum.
The skin of the lip, with three to five cellular
layers, is very thin compared to what?
A: Typical face skin, which has up to 16 layers.
With light skin color, the lip skin contains fewer
what?
A: 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 what?
A: Their notable red coloring.
With darker skin color this effect is what?
A: Less prominent.
The skin of the lip forms the border between the
exterior skin of the face, and what?
A: The interior mucous membrane of the inside of the mouth.
The lip skin is not hairy and does not have what?
A: Sweat glands.
Therefore, it does not have the usual protection layer
of what?
A: Sweat and body oils which keep the skin smooth, inhibit pathogens, and
regulate warmth.
Thinning of the vermilion of the upper lip and
flattening of the philtrum are two of the facial characteristics of what?
A: Fetal alcohol syndrome, a lifelong disability caused by the mother's
consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.
The muscles acting on the lips are considered part of
the muscles of what?
A: Facial expression.
Functionally, the muscles of facial expression are
arranged in groups around what?
A: The orbits, nose, and mouth.
Lips are used for what?
A: Eating functions, like holding food or to get it in the mouth.
Why do the lips serve to close the mouth airtight shut?
A: 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 what?
A: Increased.
This suction is essential for what?
A: For babies to breast feed.
Lips can also be used to suck in other contexts, such
as sucking on a what?
A: A straw to drink liquids.
The lips serve for creating different sounds—mainly
labial, bilabial, and labiodental consonant sounds as well as vowel
rounding—and thus are what?
A: An important part of the speech apparatus.
The lips enable whistling and the performing of what?
A: Wind instruments such as the trumpet, clarinet, flute, and saxophone.
The lip has many nerve endings and reacts as part of
what?
A: The tactile (touch) senses.
Lips are very sensitive to what?
A: Touch, warmth, and cold.
It is therefore an important aid for exploring unknown
objects for whom?
A: Babies and toddlers.
Because of their high number of nerve endings, the lips
are a what?
A: An erogenous zone.