Philtrum

Philtrum
Philtrum
	Philtrum of a healthy, one-month-old baby
	Philtrum of a domestic dog (marked in red)
Details
Precursor	Medial nasal prominence
Identifiers
TA98	A05.1.01.007
TA2	222
FMA	59819
	Anatomical terminology

The philtrum (Latin: philtrum, from Ancient Greek φίλτρον phíltron, lit. 'love charm'^[2]) or medial cleft is a vertical indentation in the middle area of the upper lip, common to therian mammals, extending in humans from the nasal septum to the tubercle of the upper lip. Together with a glandular rhinarium and slit-like nostrils, it is believed to constitute the primitive condition for at least therian mammals. Monotremes lack a philtrum, though this could be due to the specialised, beak-like jaws in living species.^[3]

^ hednk-032—Embryo Images at University of North Carolina
^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1940). φίλτρον, τό, (φιλέω). A Greek–English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved April 13, 2017 – via perseus.tufts.edu.
^ Wilfried Westheide; Gunde Rieger (November 21, 2014). Spezielle Zoologie. Teil 2: Wirbel- oder Schädeltiere. Springer-Verlag.

[1] hednk-032—Embryo Images at University of North Carolina

[2] Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1940). φίλτρον, τό, (φιλέω). A Greek–English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved April 13, 2017 – via perseus.tufts.edu.

[3] Wilfried Westheide; Gunde Rieger (November 21, 2014). Spezielle Zoologie. Teil 2: Wirbel- oder Schädeltiere. Springer-Verlag.

[1]

[2]

[3]