Philtrum - wikipedia Philtrum For the publishing house, see Philtrum Press. Philtrum Philtrum visible at centre Dog philtrum Details Precursor medial nasal prominence Identifiers TA A05. 1.01. 007 FMA 59819 Anatomical terminology ( edit on Wikidata ) The philtrum ( Latin : philtrum, Greek : φίλτρον philtron, lit. `` love charm '' ), or medial cleft, is a vertical indentation in the middle area of the upper lip, common to many 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. Contents 1 Function 1.1 Development 1.2 Variation 2 Society and culture 3 See also 4 References Function 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. For humans and most primates, the philtrum survives only as a vestigial medial depression between the nose and upper lip. The human philtrum, bordered by ridges, also is 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. Philtrum Development 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. Variation A flattened or smooth philtrum may be a symptom of fetal alcohol syndrome or Prader -- Willi syndrome. A study of boys diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders found that a broader than average philtrum is one of a cluster of physical abnormalities associated with autism. Society and culture In Jewish mythology, each embryo has an angel teaching them all of the wisdom in the world while they are in utero. The Angel lightly taps an infant 's upper lip before birth, to silence the infant from telling all the secrets in the universe to the humans who reside in it ; the infant then somewhat forgets the Torah they have been taught. Some believers of the myth speculate that this is the cause of the philtrum, but it does not have a basis in traditional Jewish texts. In Philippine mythology the enchanted creature diwata ( or encantado ) has smooth skin, with no wrinkles even at the joints, and no philtrum. In Key Largo ( 1948 ), Frank McCloud ( Humphrey Bogart ) tells a fairy tale to a child, 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. 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 one infant, whose lip had n't been tapped. In the movie The Prophecy, Archangel Gabriel ( Christopher Walken ) asks Thomas Dagget, `` Do you know how you got that dent in your top lip ? Way back, before you were born, I told you a secret, then I put my finger there and I said ' Shhhhh ! ' '' In Action Comics # 719 the Joker says a clue is right under Batman 's nose. This leads him to a Dr. Philip Drum. 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. See also This article uses anatomical terminology ; for an overview, see Anatomical terminology. Cupid 's bow Intermaxillary segment Toothbrush moustache ( philtrum moustache ) Philtrum piercing References Jump up ^ hednk - 032 -- Embryo Images at University of North Carolina Jump up ^ Liddell, Henry George ; Scott, Robert. `` φίλτρον, τό, ( φιλέω ) ''. A Greek - English Lexicon. republished online at perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved April 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Wilfried Westheide, Gunde Rieger, Spezielle Zoologie. Teil 2 : Wirbel - oder Schädeltiere, Springer - Verlag, 21 / 11 / 2014 ^ Jump up to : Rossie, James B. ; Smith, Timothy D. ( 12 January 2007 ). `` Ontogeny of the nasolacrimal duct in primates : functional and phylogenetic implications ''. Journal of Anatomy. doi : 10.1111 / j. 1469 - 7580.2006. 00682. x. PMC 2100270. Jump up ^ Hershkovitz, Philip ( 1977 ). Living New World monkeys ( Platyrrhini ) : with an introduction to Primates. I. University of Chicago Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780226327884. Jump up ^ Ankel - Simons, F. ( 2007 ). Primate Anatomy ( 3rd ed. ). Academic Press. p. 394. ISBN 978 - 0 - 12 - 372576 - 9. Jump up ^ FAS Clinical Archived 2006 - 05 - 07 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Tran, Nhung T. ; Lukefahr, James L. ( 2013 ). Koocher, Gerald P. ; Norcross, John C. ; Greene, Beverly A., eds. `` Evaluating the Medical Components of Childhood Development and Behavioral Disorders ''. Psychologists ' Desk Reference ( 3rd ed. ). Oxford University Press : 54. Jump up ^ Aldridge, Kristina ; George, Ian D ; Cole, Kimberly K ; Austin, Jordan R ; Takahashi, T Nicole ; Duan, Ye ; Miles, Judith H ( 2011 ). `` Facial phenotypes in subgroups of prepubertal boys with autism spectrum disorders are correlated with clinical phenotypes ''. Molecular Autism. 2 ( 1 ) : 15. doi : 10.1186 / 2040 - 2392 - 2 - 15. PMC 3212884. PMID 21999758. Jump up ^ Schwartz, Howard, ed. ( 1994 ). Gabriel 's Palace : Jewish Mystical Tales. OUP USA. p. 57. ISBN 9780195093889. Jump up ^ Babylonian Talmud ; Niddah 30b Jump up ^ Bane, Theresa ( 4 September 2013 ). Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. McFarland. p. 107. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4766 - 1242 - 3. Jump up ^ Socher, Abraham ( June 22, 2015 ). `` How Humphrey Bogart Came to Cite a Jewish Legend ''. mosaicmagazine.com. Retrieved April 13, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Mr. Nobody - Angels ''. YouTube.com. Retrieved April 13, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Hazard 's Choice ''. Action Comics ( 719 ). 1996. Jump up ^ MacLeish, Roderick. Prince Ombra, p. 4 ( Macmillan, 2002 ). Anatomy of the mouth Lip Vermilion border Frenulum of lower lip Labial commissure of mouth Philtrum Cheek Buccal fat pad Roof Hard palate Soft palate Palatine raphe Incisive papilla Gums Interdental papilla Gingival sulcus Gingival margin Gingival fibers Junctional epithelium Mucogingival junction Sulcular epithelium Stippling Periodontium Cementum Gingiva Periodontal ligament Glands Parotid gland duct Submandibular gland duct Sublingual gland duct Teeth see tooth anatomy Tongue Top Taste bud Median sulcus Terminal sulcus Foramen cecum Lingual tonsils Underside Frenulum Fimbriated fold Sublingual caruncle Glossoepiglottic folds Lingual septum Back of mouth Oropharynx fauces Plica semilunaris of the fauces Uvula Palatoglossal arch Palatopharyngeal arch Tonsillar fossa Palatine tonsil Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Philtrum&oldid=850366842 '' Categories : Mammal anatomy Facial features Lips Primate anatomy Horse anatomy Rodent anatomy Dog anatomy Hidden categories : Pages with unresolved properties Webarchive template wayback links Articles containing Latin - language text Articles containing Greek - language text Articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases from January 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Bosanski Čeština Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Suomi Svenska Tagalog Türkçe 中文 16 more Edit links This page was last edited on 15 July 2018, at 12 : 53 ( UTC ). 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Question: the vertical groove in the upper lip is the
Answer: philtrum