Medicine and Health related Information

The formation of various parts of the face involves the fusion of diverse components. Thus fusion is occasionally incomplete and gives rise to various anamolies.

a) HARE LIP — The upper lip of the hare normally has a cleft hence the term hare lips, is used to detect of the lips. When one or both maxillary processes do not fuse with the medial nasal process, this defect is formed in the upper lip. This may vary in degree and may be ciruclated or bilateral.

b) Defective development of lower nose part of the frontonasal process may give rise to midline defect of the upper lip. When the two mandibular processes do not fuse with each other the lower lip shows defect in the midline.The defect usually extends into the jaw.

OBLIQUE FACIAL CLEFT — Non-fusion of the maxillary and lateral nasal processes gives rise to a cleft running from the medial angle the eye to the mouth. The nasolacrimal duct sometimes is not formed.

Inadequate fusion of the mandibular and maxillary processes with each other may lead to an abnormally wide mouth (macrostomia).Lack of fusion may be unilateral, this leads to formation of lateral facial cleft too much. Fusion may result in a small mouth microstomia. The nose may be bifid ocassionally. One half of it may be present very rarely the nose forms a cylindrical projections or proboscis jutting out from just below the forehead. The anomaly may sometimes affect only half of the nose and is usually associated with the fusion of the two eyes (cyclops).

The entire first arch may remain under developed on one or both sides, affecting the lower cyclid, the maxilla, the mandible and the external ear. The prominence of the cheek is absent and the ear may be displaced ventrally and caudally. This condition called mandibulo-facial dysostosis.

The mandible may be small compare to rest of the face resulting in a receeding chin (retrognathea).