Face

The face is the front of the head. Parts of a face: Head Hair Forehead Eyebrow Eye Nose Cheek Mouth Lips Tooth Skin.\nBehavior: Facial expression.

Anatomy

\nOn the front of the face a line drawn down from \nthe supraorbital notch between the bicuspid teeth to the \nside of the chin will cut the exit of the second division \nof the fifth nerve from the infraorbital foramen, a quarter \nof an inch below the infraorbital margin, and also the exit \nof the third division of the fifth at the mental foramen, \nmidway between the upper and lower margins of the body of the \njaw. In practice it will be found that the angle of the \nmouth at rest usually corresponds to the interval between \nthe bicuspid teeth. The skin of the eyelids is very thin, \nand is separated from the subjacent fibrous tarsal plates \nby the orbicularis palpebrarum muscle. On everting the lids \nthe delicate conjunctival membrane is seen, and between this \nand the tarsal plates lie the meibomian glands, which can \nbe faintly seen as yellowish streaks. From the free edges \nof the eyelids come the eyelashes, between which many large \nsweat- glands open, and when one of these is inflamed it \ncauses a "stye." Internally the two eyelids form a little \nrecess called the internal canthus, occupied by a small \nred eminence, the caruncula lachrymalis, just external to \nwhich a small vertical fold of conjunctiva may often be \nseen, called the plica semilunaris, representing the third eyelid of birds and many mammals. By gently drawing down \nthe lower eyelid the lower punctum may be seen close to the \ncaruncula; it is the pinhole opening into the lower of the two \ncanaliculi which carry away the tears to the lachrymal sac and \nduct. On the side of the face the facial artery may be felt \npulsating about an inch in front of the angle of the jaw; \nit runs a tortuous course to near the angle of the mouth, \nthe angle of the nose and the inner angle of the eye; in the \ngreater part of its course its vein lies some distance behind \nit. The parotid gland lies between the ramus of the jaw \nand the mastoid process; anteriorly it overlaps the masseter \nto form the socia parotidis, and just below this its duct, \nthe duct of Stensen, runs forward to pierce the buccinator \nand open into the mouth opposite the second upper molar \ntooth. The line of this duct may be marked out by joining \nthe lower margin of the tragus to a point midway between \nthe lower limit of the nose and the mouth. The facial or \nseventh nerve emerges from the skull at the stylomastoid \nforamen just in front of the root of the mastoid process; \nin the parotid gland it forms a network called the pes \nanserinus, after which it divides into six branches which \nradiate over the face to supply the muscles of expression.

(from an old encyclopedia)\n----

See also

\n* face (social custom)\n* face perception\n* facial recognition\n* prosopagnosia \n\nsimple:Face