Upper lip
Labium superius oris
Integumentary (skin)SkinHead
- What it is
- The upper lip vermilion, with the central tubercle and the Cupid's-bow border below the philtrum. The red colour comes from blood in capillaries seen through a thin, non-keratinised, hair-less epithelium.
- Function
- Closes the mouth, seals around food and drink, shapes speech sounds and is one of the most touch-sensitive areas of the body.
- Size
- Vermilion ~5 cm wide, ~8–9 mm high at the midline
- Clinical note
- The lips lack sweat and sebaceous glands and so dry and crack easily; the vermilion border must be realigned exactly when repairing a cut lip or cleft lip.