Mouth
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Sagittal section of nose mouth, pharynx, and larynx. |
For the mouth of a river, see delta and estuary.The
mouth, also known as the
buccal cavity or the
oral cavity, is the opening through which an
animal takes in
food and
water. It is usually located in the
head. The mouth of a
planarium is in the middle of its belly.
Most animals have a complete
digestive system, with a mouth at one end and an
anus at the other. Which end forms first in
ontogeny is a criterion used to classify animals into
protostome and
deuterostome.
Some animals, such as the
cnidarians, the
brachiopods, and the planaria, do not have a separate anus, and thus expel waste through the mouth.
In many animals, the mouth has
mouthparts to chew food, hold food, or inject
poison. In
arthropods, they are external modified legs; in
gnathostome vertebrates they are internal.
The human mouth is covered by an upper and lower
lip. They play an important role in
speech (it is part of the
vocal apparatus),
facial expression,
kissing,
drinking (especially with a straw), and
smoking.
Infants are born with a
sucking reflex, by which they
instinctively know to suck for nourishment using their lips and
jaw. Lips are often adorned with
lipstick or
lip gloss although in most human cultures this is an affectation for females only. The
philtrum is the vertical groove in the upper lip, formed where the
nasomedial and
maxillary processes meet during
embryo development. When these processes fail to fuse fully, a
hare lip and/or
cleft palate can result. The nasolabial folds are the deep creases of tissue that extend from the nose to the sides of the mouth. One of the first signs of age on the human face is the increase in prominence of the nasolabial folds.
According to western
etiquette, the mouth is kept closed, especially when chewing.
*
Animal*
Beaker*
Jim Carrey, famous for his "grinning idiot" roles
*
John Cleese, famous for his
stiff upper lip performances
*
The Coneheads (in a famous scene in the movie, the father opens his mouth really wide while visiting the dentist.)
*
Cookie Monster*
Macauley Culkin in
Home Alone*
Farrah Fawcett*
Mick Jagger*
Scarlett Johansson (famously big lips)
*
Angelina Jolie (same reason as Scarlett Johansson)
*
Buster Keaton (in most of his films he kept his mouth closed and expressionless)
*
Richard Kind* The
MGM Lion*
Mona Lisa (the internationally most famous smile)
*
Jack Nicholson (famous for his grinning smile)
*
Pepe the Prawn*
The Rolling Stones logo (lips with a long tongue)
*
The Scream, painting by
Edvard Munch*
Carly Simon*
Guy Smiley*
Steven Tylerzh-yue:口
