Eyebrow

Supercilium

Integumentary (skin)SkinHeadLeft and right

View left in 3D View right in 3D

What it is

An arched band of short, thick hairs on the skin over the superciliary arch of the frontal bone, pointing laterally.

Function

Diverts sweat and rain away from the eye and is a major tool of facial expression (raised by frontalis, drawn together by corrugator supercilii).

Size

~5 cm long, 5–10 mm high; ~250 hairs; hairs live ~4 months

Clinical note

Loss of the outer third of the eyebrow (Hertoghe sign) is a classic, though non-specific, sign of hypothyroidism.