Regional Veterinary Surgery

Affections of lips- anatomy

ANATOMY

• The lips form the rostral and most of the lateral boundaries of the mouth and are separated from the upper and lower dental arcades by the vestibule.
• The upper and lower lips form the oral fissure and meet at posterior angles,with the commissures.
• Except for the rostral two thirds of the upper lip, there is no hair along the lip margins.
• Conical papillae are present on the caudal margin of the lower lip. The mucosa of the lower lip is firmly attached to the gum between the canine and first premolar teeth at the interdental spaces.
• The philtrum is the deep, narrow cleft be­tween the two halves of the upper lip.
• In large animals lips play as a prehensile organ also.In bovines they are less mobile. In sheep the philtrum is more deep. In camel the upper lip is divided in to two indepedent halves by a deep fissure.
• Muscles-   
• Orbicular muscle for the voluntary movement,
• dorsal and ventral incisive muscles, maxillonasolabial,buccinator, zygomatic, and levator nasolabial - voluntary lip movement
•      Nerve
• dorsal bucal ventral buccal and auriculopalpebral brabches of the facial nerve