philtrum

In most mammals, the philtrum is a narrow groove that may carry dissolved odorants from the rhinarium or nose pad to the vomeronasal organ via ducts inside the mouth.{{cite journal | journal= Journal of Anatomy| title= Ontogeny of the nasolacrimal duct in primates: functional and phylogenetic implications| date= 12 January 2007| doi= 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00682.x| first1= James B. |last1= Rossie| first2= Timothy D.| last2= Smith | pmc= 2100270 | pmid=17261140 | volume=210 | issue= 2| pages=195–208}}

For humans and most primates, the philtrum survives only as a vestigial medial depression between the nose and upper lip.{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mpGrXMuaJacC&q=philtrum+mammals+humans&pg=PR4 | first= Philip| last= Hershkovitz| title= Living New World monkeys (Platyrrhini): with an introduction to Primates| publisher= University of Chicago Press| year= 1977| volume= I| page= 16| isbn= 9780226327884}}

The human philtrum, bordered by a pair of ridges known as the philtral columns, is also known as the infranasal depression, but has no apparent function. That may be because most higher primates rely more on vision than on smell. Strepsirrhine primates, such as lemurs, still retain the philtrum and the rhinarium, unlike monkeys and apes.{{cite book | last = Ankel-Simons | first = F. | title = Primate Anatomy | edition = 3rd | publisher = Academic Press | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-12-372576-9 | page = 394}}

In humans, the philtrum is formed where the nasomedial and maxillary processes meet during embryonic development. When these processes fail to fuse fully, a cleft lip may result.

file:Philtrum FAS 6 months.jpg

File:Tahitian man Mongoloid.png

A flattened or smooth philtrum may be a symptom of fetal alcohol syndrome or Prader–Willi syndrome.{{Cite web|url=http://casaa.unm.edu/fas/FAS-cln2.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060507182822/http://casaa.unm.edu/fas/FAS-cln2.html|url-status=dead|title=FAS Clinical|archivedate=May 7, 2006}}{{cite encyclopedia| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ox1wAgAAQBAJ&q=philtrum++symptom++%22fetal+alcohol%22+%22Prader%E2%80%93Willi+syndrome%22&pg=PA54| title= Psychologists' Desk Reference| chapter= Evaluating the Medical Components of Childhood Development and Behavioral Disorders| first1= Nhung T.| last1= Tran| first2= James L. |last2= Lukefahr| editor-first1= Gerald P. | editor-last1=Koocher | publisher= Oxford University Press| editor-first2= John C. | editor-last2= Norcross|editor-first3= Beverly A. | editor-last3= Greene |edition= 3rd| year= 2013| page = 54| isbn= 9780199845507}}

A study of boys diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders found that a broader than average philtrum is one of a cluster of physical attributes associated with autism.{{cite journal |doi=10.1186/2040-2392-2-15 |pmid=21999758 |pmc=3212884 |title=Facial phenotypes in subgroups of prepubertal boys with autism spectrum disorders are correlated with clinical phenotypes |journal=Molecular Autism |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=15 |year=2011 |last1=Aldridge |first1=Kristina |last2=George |first2=Ian D |last3=Cole |first3=Kimberly K |last4=Austin |first4=Jordan R |last5=Takahashi |first5=T Nicole |last6=Duan |first6=Ye |last7=Miles |first7=Judith H |doi-access=free }}

In Jewish tradition, each embryo has an angel teaching it all of the wisdom in the world while it is in utero. The angel lightly taps the infant's upper lip before birth to prevent the infant from revealing the secrets of the universe; the infant then forgets the Torah it has been taught.{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jglADPMFr8IC&q=lailah&pg=PA286 |title= Gabriel's Palace: Jewish Mystical Tales| page= 57| editor-first= Howard| editor-last= Schwartz| publisher= OUP USA| year= 1994| isbn= 9780195093889}} Some believers of the story speculate that this is the cause of the philtrum, but it does not have a basis in traditional Jewish texts.Babylonian Talmud; Niddah 30b

In Key Largo (1948), Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) tells a fairy tale, saying that, before birth, the soul knows all the secrets of heaven, but at birth an angel presses a fingertip just above one's lip, which seals us to silence.{{cite web| url=https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/religion-holidays/2015/06/how-humphrey-bogart-came-to-cite-a-jewish-legend/| title= How Humphrey Bogart Came to Cite a Jewish Legend| website= mosaicmagazine.com| date= June 22, 2015 | first= Abraham |last= Socher | access-date= April 13, 2017}} This is also cited in the Stephen King short story "Afterlife".

In the movie Mr. Nobody, unborn infants are said to have knowledge of all past and future events. As an unborn infant is about to be sent to its mother, the "Angels of Oblivion" lightly tap its upper lip, whereupon the unborn infant forgets everything it knows. The movie follows the life story of an infant whose lip had not been tapped.{{cite web| url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5MLaabdxvY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/i5MLaabdxvY |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live| title= Mr. Nobody - Angels |date=15 March 2012 | publisher= YouTube.com| access-date= April 13, 2017}}{{cbignore}}

In the book Prince Ombra by Roderick MacLeish, the "cleft on our upper lips" is attributed to being hushed by a "cavern angel" just before we are born.{{Cite book |last=MacLeish |first=Roderick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PRcR6NfBjIC&pg=PA4 |title=Prince Ombra |date=2002-08-19 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-7653-4244-7 |pages=4 |language=en}}

In Philippine mythology, the enchanted creature diwata (or encantado) has smooth skin, with no wrinkles even at the joints, and no philtrum.{{cite book|first= Theresa| last= Bane|title=Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology|date=4 September 2013| publisher= McFarland| isbn=978-1-4766-1242-3|page=107}}

In Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, as translated by Isabel F. Hapgood, Fantine's philtrum is described thus, "in the very characteristic interval which separates the base of the nose from the upper lip, she had that imperceptible and charming fold, a mysterious sign of chastity, which makes Barberousse fall in love with a Diana found in the treasures of Iconia." Book Third—In The Year 1817, Chapter III—Four And Four.{{cite web| url= https://www.gutenberg.org/files/135/135-h/135-h.htm| title= Les Misérables}}

In Icelandic folklore, the huldufólk, or elfin "hidden people", may appear as normal humans but have a physical characteristic making them different: they have a convex rather than concave philtrum.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

The Orang bunian, "elves" or "hidden people" from Southeast Asian folklore also have similar physical characteristics where they lack a philtrum.{{cite book |last1=Hadler |first1=Jeffrey |title=Muslims and matriarchs: cultural resilience in Indonesia through jihad and colonialism |date=2008 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca |isbn=9780801446979}}

{{Anatomy-terms}}

• Cupid's bow
• Intermaxillary segment
• Toothbrush moustache (philtrum moustache)
• Philtrum piercing
• Cleft lip

{{Reflist}}

{{Mouth anatomy}}

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Category:Mammal anatomy

Category:Facial features

Category:Lips

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