Lip

One of the two fleshy folds which surround the opening of the mouth. The upper lip is separated from the nose by the philtrum, the area that lies between the base of the nose and the pigmented edge (called the vermillion border or the carmine margin) of the upper lip. The upper and lower lips meet at the corners (or angles) of the mouth which, in anatomy, are called the oral commissures. The oral commissure normally lies in a vertical line below the pupil. Small blind pits are sometimes seen at the corners of the mouth; they are known as angular lip pits and are considered normal minor variants. The lips may be abnormally thin or thick. For example, the upper lip is typically thin and the philtrum flat in children with the fetal alcohol syndrome. If the upper lip is overgrown, the corners of the mouth appear to be downturned. The lips are not only features of anatomy. They are also organs of speech. A sound requiring the participation of one or both lips is referred to as a labial (labium in Latin means lip) sound. All labial sounds are consonants. There are bilabial sounds such as "p" which involve both lips and labiodental sounds such as "v" which involve the upper teeth and lower lip. The word "lip" can be traced back to the Indo-European "leb" which also produced the Latin "labium" from which came the French "levre." The German "lippe" is just a slip from the English "lip."

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Acronym for lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia or lymphoid interstitial pneumonia. See lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia.

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lipase; lipocortin; lithium-induced polydipsia; lower inflection point; lymphoid or lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis

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lip 'lip n

1) either of the two fleshy folds which surround the opening of the mouth in humans and many other vertebrates and in humans are organs of speech essential to certain articulations also the pinkish or reddish margin of a human lip composed of nonglandular mucous membrane and usu. exposed when the mouth takes on its natural set

2) an edge of a wound

3) either of a pair of fleshy folds surrounding an orifice

4) an anatomical part or structure (as a labium) resembling a lip

lip·like 'lip-.līk adj

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(lip) 1. either the upper or lower fleshy margin of the mouth, together called labia oris [TA]. 2. a marginal part; called also labium.