What is another name for a philtrum?

Answer 1

Your philtrum is the groove above your top lip and between your nostrils; the narrow channel running vertically from the base of the nose to the edge of the center of the upper lip. No other primate has anything like it. No other primate mouth has evolved everted lips, with a dip in the center of the top one, creating what was once known romantically as the "cupids bow" shape.

The name derives from the Greek philtron, a potion used to excite love or passion. How the word transferred to an anatomical structure is not clear, but Gray's Anatomy refers to "the philtrum of the lip", suggesting at least the possibility of philtra elsewhere.

Answer 2

If you have ever seen a "water-birth" you may see new-born babies pushing their top lip against their nose sometimes using their tongue to do so. Why?

Well the groove of the philtrum is usually a perfect fit for the skin between the nostrils, and the upper lip seals the nostrils aiding breath-holding.

It has been suggested that this ability was more pronounced in the past and some of us can do it better than others.

That new-born babies instinctively do this as well as swim unaided is yet more evidence in support of the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis. Try it yourself!

The philtrum regulates the amount of air that is exchanged for fluid when drinking out of a bottle. This controls how much liquid you wish to consume.

Answer 3

Philtrum is an English word already; it means that valley-like structure that runs down from your nose to your upper lip.

The Latin word philtrum literally means "love potion."

Answer 4

From Webster; a philtrum is a groove at the median line of the upper lip.

Answer 5

The philtrum is the vertical groove in the middle of the upper lip, technically referred to as the medial cleft.

Answer 6

under ur nose!!