Anatomy def: The paired depressor anguli oris (sing. angulus) are one of many muscles of facial expression. Spanning from mandible (lower jaw) to edges of mouth, these depressors pull corners of the mouth downward, as in a frown.
Outlander def: The “frightened, angry and verra scart muscles!” Young Ian displays a fierce frown as he watches the wicked witch wriggle and writhe!!!
Checkout the downturn at the corners of young Ian’s mouth – especially noticeable on his right side. This is depressor anguli oris, adding marked emphasis to his displeasure with ghastly Geillis!
Read about young Ian’s terrifying meet-and-greet with the mad Mrs. Abernathy.Diana doesn’t describe frowning as part and parcel of their weirdly intimate encounter, but one might well imagine the corners of his mouth turning downward. Here from Voyager book , Ian explains to Uncle Jamie:
He had had little opportunity to feel homesick, though. Hercules—or Atlas—had marched him up the stairs into what was obviously Mistress Abernathy’s bedroom. Mrs. Abernathy was waiting for him, dressed in a soft, loose sort of gown with odd-looking figures embroidered round the hem of it in red and silver thread.
“I didna want to answer her, but I couldna seem to help myself. I felt verra warm, like I was fevered, and I couldna seem to move easy. But I answered all her questions, and her just sitting there, pleasant as might be, watching me close wi’ those big green eyes.”
“I knew ye’d come, Uncle Jamie,” he said, with a tremulous smile, “but ye left it a bit late, aye?” The smile widened, then broke, and he began to tremble. He blinked hard, fighting back tears.
See Ian’s depressor anguli oris muscles at work in Outlander episode 312, The Bakra. The frowning lad is grossed out after witnessing the Bakra’s goat blood bath! No sweet Mary here. Gah!
Hello anatomy students! Time to launch a new but thrilling anatomic topic: the GI tract. What is the GI tract (Image A)? Well, it is a complex organ system that enjoys several monikers: alimentary canal, alimentary tract, digestive tube, GI tract, gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal system, and gut. Most anatomists prefer the term gastrointestinal tract or system, but since that term is a bit lengthy, this lesson will shorten it to GI tract.
Image A
Spoiler Warning: there are lots of Outlander images and book quotes within, including one waaaay forward from book eight. A scaredy cat warning appears before hand, so, watch for it!
You can easily scroll to the relaxing cat to skip the whole thing until you’re ready to read MOBY!
The GI tract is a tube extending from mouth through anus (yes, I wrote that and I warrant that team Angus and Rupert used that word, too!). It is divided into the following regions (Image B):
oral cavity
oropharynx
esophagus (oesophagus)
stomach
small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum)
large intestine
rectum
anal canal and anus
The GI system includes several additional organs that are associated with the GI tract:
major salivary glands
liver
gallbladder
pancreas
Image B
GI Embryology: You might wonder why the last four organs belong to the GI system. This occurs because during embryogenesis, these organs develop as outgrowths of the developing GI tube. After birth, they retain connections with the parent GI tract via ducts (hollow tubes). Parental offspring!
Embryogenesis of the GI tract is extraordinarily complex but consider this simplified version (Image C – gold layer):
The human embryo starts as a flattened sheet of layered cells which folds and expands due to cell division (and death) directed by chemical growth factors.
By 18 days, the future gut expands at the head end as the foregut and a second hollow, the hindgut, develops at the rear. The open midgut lies between the two hollows.
By 22 days, the gut assumes a more tube-like configuration. The early liver appears.
By 30 days, the nascent pancreas appears.
Over the next days and weeks, the foregut differentiates into pharynx, esophagus, stomach, part of small intestine, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
Midgut develops into the rest of small intestine, and part of large intestine.
Hindgut gives rise to the remaining large intestine, rectum, anal canal, and part of anus.
Image C
The Tube (not the one in London!): Think of the mature GI tract as a long, hollow tube, albeit one that is variously folded and dilated. The tube shown in Image D has a wall made of zirconium but, consider that the space inside the tube is an extension of the outer world. Yes? Same is true with the GI tract: from mouth through anus, the lumen (space) inside the GI tract tube is an extension of the outer world. Even as ingested materials disappear after swallowing, anything in the lumen technically remains outside the body until it crosses the wall of the GI tract. Make sense? Yay!
Image D
Length: The adult GI tract is also very long. Just how long is it? In adults, it measures 8.3 m (27’+) – almost the height of a three-story building! Much of its length is highly folded so it nicely tucks within the abdominal cavity. A Body Worlds exhibit (Image E) shows an expanded view of the GI tract and its associated organs. German labels reflect the language of the show’s creator, Gunther von Hagens. Lay the tube out straight, and it approaches 27’ in length.
The length isn’t a fluke of nature, rather, it is required for digestion of foodstuffs, absorption of nutrients, and preparation of residues for elimination. There are also many more functions provided by associated organs of the GI system. More about such functions soon.
Image E
So, with those issues behind us (har har), the lesson begins and ends with the oral cavity or mouth. The mouth includes many components: inner lips, inner cheeks, gums, hard and soft palates, floor of mouth, tongue and teeth (Image F). Let’s start with the lips.
Image F
Lips: Visible flaps at the mouth opening, the soft pliable lips are important additions to the GI tract because they augment food intake, chewing, and articulations as in speech (Image G). Hopefully, the lip-flash doesn’t freak you out!
People generally think of the lips as the part to which lipstick is applied. But, anatomists hold that the lips are more extensive.
Image G
Anatomical lips include not only the lipstick canvas, known as the vermillion zone (Image H – pink arrows), but also the hair covered flaps above and below the vermillion zone (Image H – green arrows) as well as the moist and red inner surface of these flaps (Image H – blue arrows).
Lips are equipped with orbicularis oris (Image I), a major muscle mass, rendering them highly mobile. For decades, orbicularis oris was described as a sphincter muscle encircling the opening of the oral cavity, a description that remains rampant on today’s Internet. Modern dissections have shown this description to be insufficient. Rather, orbicular oris is divided into four quadrants, each containing both circular and direct (diagonal) muscle fibers, lending an amazing ability to purse, pucker, and pout. For a more thorough consideration of orbicularis oris, visit Anatomy Lesson #14, “Jamie and Claire or Anatomy of a Kiss.”
Although not shown in Image I, lips are also provided with seven pairs (that’s 14 total!) of muscles that elevate (lift), depress (lower), and/or retract (pull back) the lips. Very mobile structures, the lips!
Image I
Jamie provides a fantastic example of pursed lips as he endures rambling threats and ignoble insults from BJR (Starz episode 109, The Reckoning). No choice – Cap. Mad Man holds a knife to his beloved Claire! Puckering requires simultaneous contraction of direct and circular orbicularis oris muscle fibers. ?“Nobody does it better … Nobody does it half as good as you. Baby, you’re the best!” ?
Lastly, lips are anchored by webs of mucous membrane: a frenulum of the upper lip and a frenulum of the lower lip (Image J).
Image J
Lips are highly tactile structures imbued with numerous sensory receptors which detect light touch, deep pressure, pain, vibratory sense, heat, and cold. These many tactile attributes help our lips close, grip objects, and engage in kissing and other acts of intimacy (Image K). Ha!
Image K
Because lips are highly innervated and possess startling mobility, they enjoy a prehensile-like ability to grip things, even items they should avoid gripping (Starz episode 101, Sassenach). Small Saucy Sassynach!
Outlander kisses would be neither as passionate nor as (ahhhh!) satisfying sans nimble muscles and sharp tactile sensibilities of the lips. Smack down!
Jamie and Claire share many kisses, especially during Outlander Season 2 (Starz episode 210, Prestonpans). But a quote from Dragonfly in Amber book says it all – a bit of a love poem by Catullus:
Then let amorous kisses dwell
On our lips, begin and tell
A Thousand and a Hundred score
A Hundred, and a Thousand more.
I love writing about our fav couple’s lips, but we must move on. Sigh!
Oral Cavity: Before describing structures of the mouth, it is important to further define the oral cavity. The oral cavity is divided into two parts. The oral vestibule is a slit-like space between teeth and inner lips and between teeth and cheeks (Image L – green arrows). The oral cavity proper is the larger slit-like space behind the teeth (Image L – black arrow).
Image L
Oral Cavity Proper: However, with jaws open, the oral cavity dramatically expands into a rather large cavern (think foot-in-mouth). Gazing into the oral cavity proper, it starts at the vermillion zone and ends at the paired palatoglossal arches, two mucosal folds descending from the soft palate to the tongue (Image M). See the paired palatine tonsils (we have three pairs of tonsils)? These lie outside the oral cavity.
Image M
Wanna see Jamie’s proper oral cavity? Of course ye do! Jamie lets out a big-old howl after that bratty MacDonald lad slices and dices his left side (Starz, episode 110, By the Pricking of My Thumbs). Ouch, that hurts! Jamie is in for it now – his usually not-a-silent wifie willna appreciate such blatant butchery. Say ahhhhh, lad!
Palates: The roof of mouth is divided into two palates: an anterior hard palate, so named because its mucosa overlies bone, and a posterior soft palate which lacks bony underpinnings. Image N shows the palates as if you sat on the tongue and stared upward. The soft uvula is a midline structure suspended from the soft palate. The two palatoglossal arches drop right and left from the uvula.
Here is an interesting fact: The hard palate is characterized by permanent folds known as rugae. These ridges are stable and unique for each person suggesting they could be used for identification purposes. Their human function is not clear but is probably related to mastication (chewing).
Try This: With mouth open, use tip of tongue or finger to feel where hard palate and soft palate meet. Carry a flashlight/torch to a mirror. Open your mouth, but shine the light directly into the mirror; light reflects off the mirror and into your mouth. Identify your uvula, the dangly bit hanging from the roof of the soft palate. Several small muscles control it during swallowing, speech, etc. My fav muscle is the itsy bitsy teenie-weenie tensor veli palatini. <G>
Image N
Mucous Membrane: Consider the mouth’s interior. Every surface, except teeth, is covered with mucous membrane, a red, shiny, wet, and sensitive surface (Image O). The membrane appears red because it has a rich blood supply. It is wet because saliva bathes its surfaces. It is shiny because saliva reflects light. It is sensitive because it is supplied with numerous sensory receptors.
With some exceptions, the mucous membrane of the entire oral cavity is non-keratinized (Anatomy Lesson #5, “Claire’s Skin” – “Ivory, Opal and White Velvet”), meaning its cells do not contain keratin. However, mucous membrane of gums near the teeth, top of tongue, and hard plate contain keratinized cells. Why? Because they are subject to abrasion during mastication. Keratin is an intracellular protein which hardens cells, making them resistant to abrasion. Make sense? Yay!
Remember when Angus Mhor administers a methodical beating to Jamie in Castle Leoch’s great hall (Rupert does the dirty deed in Starz episode 102, Castle Leoch)? Diane writes about Jamie’s oral mucosa in Outlander book. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you’re not reading Diana’s books, you are missing out on gobs of anatomy!
“Is your mouth cut inside too?” “Unh-huh.” He bent down and I pulled down his lower jaw, gently turning down the lip to examine the inside. There was a deep gash in the glistening cheek lining, and a couple of small punctures in the pinkness of the inner lip. Blood mixed with saliva welled up and overflowed.
Try this: Return to the mirror with a flashlight. Open mouth and inspect its lining. See that the mucous membrane surfaces are moist, shiny, and red. We all known how tender they are. With tip of tongue explore the surfaces of cheeks, floor of mouth, and inside of lips. All surfaces are smooth and moist excepting the rougher hard palate, gums near teeth and dorsum of tongue.
Image O
Minor Salivary Glands: Image P demonstrates a little known fact: deep to the mucous membrane, the entire mouth is riddled with thousands of minor salivary glands; these microscopic entities are much smaller than Image P implies. Tiny ducts (channels) lead from the glands, pierce the mucous membrane, and open into the oral cavity. Minor salivary glands produce and secrete saliva to moisten oral surfaces. Some of these glands specialize in producing mucus, a thick secretion rich in glycoproteins (protein molecules with carbohydrate side chains) which renders the saliva slippery.
Try This: Return to the mirror, grasp and evert one cheek (Ha, ha. No, not that one!). Can you see tiny surface humps and bumps? These are caused by aggregations of minor salivary glands.
Image P
Tongue: The human tongue is an organ. What is an organ? In anatomy, an organ isn’t a musical behemoth equipped with large keyboard and foot pedals; rather, it is a collection of tissues joined into a structural unit that serves a common function(s).
Ably demoed by Miley (Image Q), the tongue is rather large. We use it to help chew (as in mixing food with saliva), swallow, speak, and taste. And, to be bratty, of course!
Image Q
The mature tongue is divided into (Image R):
Body – oral part (anterior 2/3)
Apex – the tip (part of the body)
Root – pharyngeal part (posterior 1/3)
The tongue is an extraordinary organ, arising from two different embryonic anlage (rudimentary parts) which fuse during development: one part gives rise to body and apex, and a second part produces the root. The two parts fuse leaving a remnant, the terminal sulcus (Latin meaning end groove), an inverted, V-shaped groove (Image R – dashed lines) on dorsum of tongue.
Take another look at Miley’s tongue (Image Q); the part you see is body and apex. The tongue root is not visible because it drops backward and downwards, out of view.
The tongue body has two different surfaces. A protected ventral (under) surface is covered with thin mucous membrane. The dorsum (top) of tongue is covered with mucous membrane but it is rough. Do you remember why?
Image R
Tongue Papillae: The dorsum of tongue is rough because the surface is covered with a mess of tiny bumps, the papillae (Latin meaning nipple). Image S is a vertical section through back of tongue showing surface papillae. Human tongues have four different types of papillae: fungiform, filiform, foliate, and circumvalate (the big guy marked papilla in Image S). Foliates are present on the sides of our tongues – they do not appear in the image
Papillae derive their names from their shape. Fungiform look like mushrooms, filiform resemble filaments, foliate are leaf-like, and the humongous circumvalate (valate) are bound by a deep circumferential moat.
BTW: See the blue ovals near the right edge of Image S (black arrow)? These are lingual tonsils . We have a large mass of tonsils embedded in each side of our tongue just posterior to the sulcus terminalis. Yes, we do!
Taste Buds: All papillae except the filiform type harbor taste buds, units embedded in the covering cells of the mucous membrane. The cells of filiform papillae are keratinized to help grip food particles and to protect the tongue dorsum during mastication. The human tongue has between 2,000 and 8,000 taste buds. But, here is an interesting Fascinating Fun Fact: taste buds are also found in the mucosa of soft palate, esophagus, inner cheeks and epiglottis (Anatomy Lesson #42, “The Voice – No, not that One!”)! Yep, ’tis true
Viewed vertically, taste buds resemble sections of a peeled orange (Image S – lower left), and are composed of supporting and sensory cells. A tiny taste pore opens into the oral cavity. Food molecules, delivered as a salivary cocktail, reach the taste pore, sensory cells detect the molecules and depolarize (change in electrical charge). this stimulates nearby nerve fibers which carry the impulse to the brain where it is interpreted as flavor. Whew!
Try this: Return to the mirror with a flashlight. Open your mouth and peer closely at the tiny papillae covering the tongue dorsum. Look carefully, you will likely see larger fungiform papillae scattered among the smaller, more numerous filiform type. You will not see the foliate because they are far back at the sides of tongue. If you are truly adventurous, place forefinger on the tongue dorsum and push it backwards as far as possible. Feel the rough bumps on either side? These are the circumvalate papillae. Rah!
Image S
Flavors: Since 1901, students have been taught that human taste buds detect four different flavors: salty, sour, bitter, and sweet. Recent lobbying by researchers have added a fifth flavor, umami (savory). And, for over a century, taste bud distributions were mapped out on the tongue dorsum to show where these flavors are detected (Image T). This myth has been debunked as research shows we can detect all five flavors anywhere on the dorsal tongue albeit more intensely in some regions than others. And, the detection of flavors is far more complex than the five types provided by taste buds, as we shall consider at lesson’s end.
Image T
Ventral Tongue: The ventral (under) surface of tongue isn’t exactly beautiful, but it is covered with a thin mucous membrane similar to inside of cheeks and lips. This surface exhibits several folds and a midline lingual frenulum, a fold of mucous membrane which anchors the tongue to limit its movements (Image U). Bluish longitudinal squiggly ridges are created by large, underlying lingual veins.
Image U
BOOK SPOILER WARNING!
Skip the next paragraphs and scroll down to the relaxed cat if you don’t want to read a quote from Diana’s eighth book…
During embryogenesis, the lingual frenulum is quite long. Programmed cell death within the frenulum causes it to shorten (Fact: embryonic development involves gobs of programmed cell death). Occasionally, the programming goes awry and the frenulum fails to shorten leaving its owner tongue-tied (Image V – left side).
Known as ankyloglossia (Greek for fused tongue or fixed tongue), a simple case requires a clip through part of the lingual frenulum (Image V) to release the tongue from its tether (Image V – right side). This procedure is known as a frenotomy.
Diana provides! Claire performs this surgery on a character (no name!) from book eight, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, known by faithful readers as MOBY:
I’m going to do just a frenotomy, at least for now. That is a very simple operation; it will literally take five seconds…. I had a tiny cautery iron, its handle wrapped in twisted wool… I had a fine suture needle, threaded with black silk, too, just in case. The frenulum is a very thin band of elastic tissue that tethers the tongue to the floor of the mouth, and in most people it is exactly as long as it needs to be to allow the tongue to make all the complex motions required for speaking and eating, without letting it stray between the moving teeth, where it could be badly damaged … the frenulum was too long and, by fastening most of the length of the tongue to the floor of her mouth, prevented easy manipulation of that organ.
Go Diana!
Try this: Return to “mirror-mirror-on the wall”. Open mouth and inspect undersurface of tongue and its anchoring lingual frenulum.
Image V
We’ll leave the tongue with a timely quote from Dragonfly in Amber, Diana’s second book:
He didn’t break away from the kiss, but held himself motionless, gently exploring my lips, the tip of his tongue caressing, barely stroking. I touched his tongue with my own, and held his face between my hands.
Teeth: Moving on… Human teeth are designed to grip, cut, tear, and crush food in preparation for swallowing and digestion. Chewing grinds food into smaller bits so we can swallow a food bolus more easily and to expose more food surface to digestive enzymes. Ever tried to swallow a big chunk of poorly-chewed food? Even a spoon-full of sugar won’t help it go down. Stuuuuck!
Permanent (adult) teeth fall into four different groups (Image W): incisors, canines, premolars and molars. Incisors cut, canines tear, and premolars and molars crush food.
Anatomy Lesson #26 “Jamie’s Chin – Manly Mentus,” discussed teeth in detail, but to briefly review, an adult human is potentially equipped with 32 teeth (things do go awry). The maxillae (upper jaw) contain eight teeth per side. Ditto for the mandible (lower jaw).
Baby Teeth: As you know, youngsters have deciduous (baby or milk) teeth, meaning they are shed with age. There are 20 deciduous teeth, five per side in the maxillae and five per side in the mandible. Baby teeth have no premolars and only two molars per side, top and bottom, hence, a different overall count.
Claire gives Jamie an anatomy lesson about good teeth in Dragonfly in Amber book:
Eat those first, though; they’re good for you.” He shared the Highlanders’ innate suspicion of fresh fruit and vegetables, though his great appetite made him willing to eat almost anything in extremity. “Mm,” he said, taking a bite of one apple. “If ye say so, Sassenach.” “I do say so. Look.” I pulled my lips back, baring my teeth. “How many women of my age do you know who still have all their teeth?” A grin bared his own excellent teeth. “Well, I’ll admit you’re verra well preserved, Sassenach, for such an auld crone.”
Image W
Major Salivary glands: Because we have minor salivary glands, there must be “The Majors.” Actually, we have three pairs of major salivary glands but all reside external to the mouth. Then, why discuss them with the oral cavity? Because, as stated earlier, major salivary glands began existence as outgrowths of the embryonic oral cavity. As such, they are equipped with ducts that drain their secretions into the mouth.
What are those secretions? Well, saliva, of course. But, you should know that saliva isn’t just a slimy mixture of mucus, water, and ions, it also contains an enzyme that begins digesting starches before they leave the oral cavity. Known as salivary amylase and earlier as ptyalin (from Greek ptualon meaning spittle), this enzyme cleaves carbohydrates into smaller molecules. Once again, mom’s adage to chew your food slowly applies not only to breaking it down for easier swallowing but to mixing it with ptyalin to begin carbohydrate digestion. Smart lass, your mam.
The paired major salivary glands include parotids, submandibulars, and sublinguals (Image X). Parotid glands wrap around the ramus of each mandible (lower jaw bone), just anterior to the ear. Did you know, during a mumps infection, the offending virus takes up residence in the parotid glands? Submandibular glands lie in floor of mouth near the angle (back corner) of the mandible. Sublingual glands are located in the floor of the mouth but under the tongue. In case you forgot parts of the mandible, you can read about them in Anatomy Lesson #26, “Jamie’s Chin – Manly Mentus.
Image X
Parotid ducts pierce the cheek mucosa and empty into the oral cavity adjacent to the upper second molars (Image Y – black arrow).
Image Y
The floor of mouth is equipped with a pair of sublingual folds, pleats of mucous membrane (Image Z). Each submandibular duct opens onto a sublingual caruncle, an anterior knob on each sublingual fold. Multiple, small sublingual ducts open onto each sublingual fold.
Try This: Place tip of tongue against cheek mucosa near the upper second molar tooth. Can you feel a small blip in the mucous membrane? This is the opening of a parotid duct, also known as Stensen’s duct. Place tip of tongue in floor of mouth and wiggle. Do you feel a long ridge of mucosa on each side? This is the sublingual fold. Return to the mirror, open mouth and lift tongue. Look for the sublingual folds on each side of the floor of mouth. At the front of each fold is a sublingual caruncle. Opening onto each caruncle is the submandibular gland duct, also known as Wharton’s duct. You probably won’t see openings of the sublingual ducts because they are small. Just so you know, stones can form in salivary gland ducts just as they do in kidney and gallbladder.
Image Z
Saliva serves purposes other than moistening mucous membranes of the mouth and providing enzymes. These new uses are a bit more, social or antisocial as the case may be.
Gleeking: Ever hear of gleeking? Gleeking is the ability to propel a stream of saliva out through the submandibular duct orifices. Saliva accumulates in the submandibular glands and is forcefully expelled as the tongue compresses the glands. Some folks can gleek on both sides, others on just one. Take a peek at this amazing YouTube example! Talented gleeker!
Enticing Thoughts: As you know from Pavlov’s dog studies, eating stimulates salivary glands, but enticing thoughts may also flood the entire mouth with saliva.
Marley, who had begun to pant rather heavily during the search, stopped and wiped a thread of saliva from the side of his mouth. I moved as far away as I could manage, disgusted.
Eeeewww, poor Claire!
Great Expectorations or Spitting #1: Spitting is another great use of saliva! Again, not your typical biological function, but it has its purposes! Starz episodes provide three excellent examples of such mouth showers. Claire is the first spitter of the series, giving that redcoat bastard a wet blast right between the eyes (Starz, episode 101, Sassenach)! Well, he did have her between a rock and a hard place! Hee hee!
Spitting #2: Next, Murtagh hawks an awesome, audacious loogie at Dougal (Starz episode 109, The Reckoning). He has no use for this MacKenzie war chief and does not ken why it takes Jamie until another 20 episodes to get rid of this Revolting Relative!
Spitting #3: Black-Jack gets a well-aimed juicy one from Jamie (Starz, episode 116, To Ransom a Man’s Soul). And, why not? Jamie has little to lose because Claire is safe and BJR will proceed to extract his measure of agony no matter what. Just look at Jamie’s puir hand! Gah!
Drawing this lesson to a close, here is a final tidbit. Taste buds detect the five basic tastes and their combinations, but more flavor detection comes from hundreds of nasal receptors that activate as food chemicals are breathed out through the nose (Anatomy Lesson #28, “The Savvy Sniffer – Claire’s Nose Knows!”). Detection of flavors is actually a complex combination of memory, movement, sight, smell, sound, touch and taste (Image AA). Amazing!
So, remember this take-home message: the entire oral cavity and its associate elements are designed for the intake, mastication, taste, and breakdown of foodstuffs. These essential steps await further processing by the terrific tube! Very important, the oral cavity. I am grateful for mine every time I take a bite of something yummy. Mr. Bean’s complex poem says it all:
Food – by Mr. Bean
Food is good.
Hee, hee! Next Anatomy Lesson will continue with the GI Tract. TTYL!
Confession time: I have wanted to do a lesson on the anatomy of a kiss for a very long time. Today is that day! Welcome to Anatomy Lesson #14: The Lips (and a little tongue too).
Now, you may think there is little anatomy of the lips but there is so much info and complexity that we’ll be lucky to cover it in a single lesson!
I need models for our lesson and who better than Claire getting her first kiss (Starz episode 101, Sassenach). NO, not this kiss!! Claire usually has to urge Frank but she seems to like this kiss just fine and I’m betting there is a group of folks out there that give two thumbs for any face time with Frank.
Clearly Claire is not pleased with this kiss. Dougal’s efforts garner him a kick in the stones, a sharp slap and a wallop over the head with a stool! Dougal, best get ye gone man before you end up “paying a greater price!”
Ok, how about this one? Better? Ha! Getting down to business, Jamie and Claire seal the wedding vows with their first kiss (Starz episode 107, The Wedding). In Outlander book, Herself records the moment:
“More mumbling from the priest and Jamie bent to kiss me. It was clear that he intended only a brief and ceremonial touching of lips, but his mouth was soft and warm and I moved instinctively toward him. I was vaguely conscious of noises, Scottish whoops of enthusiasm and encouragement from the spectators,but really noticed nothing beyond the enfolding warm solidness. Sanctuary.”
Whoa, Prof! This wedding kiss lasts waaay longer than one brief frame! How about some time lapse photography? OK, students, not to dwell on the point, but here’s Claire as she accepts Jamie’s kiss.
A wee release of the lips and more kiss! Aye, she gives as good as she gets.
More lip action; she really leans into it. Good lass!
Finally, at the end of the lengthy lip-lock, Claire is on her tippy-toes panting for more. No ceremonial peck here. Well, when she kisses him like that maybe she isna so sorry to be marrying him after all.
Gasp! Mayhap we all best come up for a wee gulp of air!
Can I ask you a question? “Did you like it?” He he – Jamie did!
Topography of Lips: Now, on with the anatomy lesson! First, let’s begin with topographical (surface) anatomy of the lips. The lips are the part of the face surrounding the oral fissure, the external opening to the oral cavity (Image A, black arrow).
In anatomy, the upper lip (black bracket) extends from nasal septum all the way inside to the web of tissue near the upper gums. Similarly, the lower lip (red bracket) extends from the groove of chin (red arrow) inside to the web of tissue near the lower gums.
Lips are soft, pliable and mobile and almost prehensile in their movements. Consider that lips are active in biting, chewing, drinking, licking, swallowing, speaking, singing, screaming, sucking, crying, humming, etc. Wow, not too many areas of the body can lay claim to such a vast range of services! And, lastly, the lips are a tactile sensory organ and thus classified as an erogenous zone.
Image A
Image B shows upper frenulum and lower frenulum, webs of tissue that mark the
internal terminus of upper and lower lips. Frenula (pl.) help anchor lips
to gums.
Try this: Grasp your upper lip and lift locate the upper frenulum. Repeat with the lower lip.
Image B
Vermillion Border: The vermillion border is the margin where facial skin meets upper and lower lips (Image C, black arrows) – the interface where lip liner is applied.
Vermillion Zones: In anatomy, the areas commonly called upper and lower lips are vermillion zones (Image C, black brackets) – the areas where lipstick is applied.
From vermillion zone to oral cavity, lips transition from thin, dry hairless skin to wet mucosa (blue arrows).
Try This: Look in a mirror and identify vermillion border and vermillion zones. Next, pull down your lower lip and find where the skin of the vermillion zone turns into wet mucosa of the inner lip. Got it? Good!
Image C
More Lip Structures (Image D):
tubercle: lip-blip in the midline of upper lip – it varies in size
philtrum: vertical groove from nasal septum to lip tubercle
philtral columns: paired ridges of skin flanking philtrum
Try this: Return to the mirror to locate these features of your own lips or,
better yet, use a partner!
Image D
Always fun to throw in a wee bit of comparative anatomy…in mammals such
as the dog, the philtrum is more extensive, a midline cleft extending from nose through upper lip (Image E – red arrows) that may act as a channel to direct dissolved odorants towards the nasal septum.
Image E
Cupid’s Bow: The vermillion border of our lower lip is an even line, but not so with the border of the upper lip which bears twin peaks, the so-called Cupid’s bow (Image F – red line) in honor of the weapon born by Cupid, Roman god of erotic love. And, the peaks of the bow coincide with philtral pillars (black arrows). The more prominent the peaks of Cupid’s bow, the more obvious are the philtral pillars.
Photo F
No surprise here, but Jamie’s upper lip demonstrates a prime and manly example of Cupid’s bow and its associated philtrum (Starz episode 102, Castle Leoch) but I wager you already ken this. Wink, wink. His bow is well-defined (mmphm) and his upper and lower lips are picture perfect. Studies show that lip size in men is linked to sexual appeal. Subjects in these studies preferred men with masculine lips, neither too large nor too small. Sound like anyone you favor?
Starz Claire has absolutely beautiful lips that are full, expressive and verra feminine!
They define her face to a large extent and along with her eyes were features I
noticed first (Starz episode 109, The Reckoning). Again, psychology studies have
shown that the larger a woman’s eyes and the fuller her lips, the more desirable and feminine she was perceived by participants of these studies. Lipstick is thought to enhance this underlying perception.
Microscopic Anatomy of Lip: Let’s turn from surface anatomy to the lip as seen in a microscope. Microscopic anatomy is AKA histology (Greek meaning tissue knowledge). Considerable technology is required to prepare tissues for microscopy: samples are imbued with paraffin (sometimes plastic), sliced very thin, picked up on glass slides and stained before examination. How thin is the slice? Well, it would be roughly 6 µm (.006 mm or .00023 in) – thin enough for light to pass through the slice.
Image G is a tissue section of lip as view with a microscope (Image G). It takes
some skill to recognize subtle differences, but the top box surrounds a patch
of facial skin with hair follicles, sweat and sebaceous glands (Anatomy Lesson
#5 and Anatomy Lesson #6); the left box encloses the vermillion zone of thin
skin sans hair and glands; the bottom box surrounds a patch of wet mucosa
(living cells throughout the surface layer). Look closely: the black arrow
points to dovetails (interdigitations) between the dark red thin skin and the deeper
pink-blue dermis. Let’s take a closer look:
Photo G
Hey, students, wake up! Stay with me now – I can see you nodding off! Here, this might help (Starz episode 102, Castle Leoch). Oh, weel, I see that got your attention. Talk about lips doing their job and giving us a full wattage smile!
Photo H is a much higher magnification of the dovetail region indicated by the arrow in Photo G. See the odd pink oval structure that resembles shredded wheat or
venetian blinds (Photo H-black arrow)? This is a special sensory body first identified by Georg Meissner, a German anatomist and physiologist (1829-1905). These structures, named Meissner’s corpuscles are excited by light touch. The dermis of
erogenous zones, such as the lips, contains higher concentrations of Meissner’s
corpuscles than non-erogenous regions. When excited by light touch, the nerve
endings fire and information is transmitted along nerves to the brain.
Photo H
Photo I is an artist’s rendition of a Meissner’s corpuscle. The lavender and black region is overlying thin skin; the gold and black structure is the corpuscle. Ergo, increased numbers of these touch-sensitive structures explains the basis of the so-called erogenous zones of the body.
Photo I
Break time for practical
application of our knowledge about the lips: From Outlander, Herself quotes the Latin poet, Catullus:
“Then let amorous kisses
dwell
On our lips, begin and
tell
A Thousand and a Hundred
score
A Hundred, and a Thousand
more.”
Well, Jamie and Claire dinna disappoint. There are many amorous kisses shared by these two in Starz episodes 107 and 108. I was actually surprised by the frequency as I worked on this post. Gah! Messed with my sleep patterns!
Now let’s move to gross anatomy of the lips. Do you recall from Anatomy Lesson #11 the name of the muscle surrounding the oral fissure? If you said orbicularis oris, you get 100 points! For years, anatomists taught that orbicularis oris was a circular, sphincter-like muscle that contracted like a camera diaphragm to close the oral fissure (Photo J). Well, recent studies have proven this is not the case.
Photo J
Orbicularis oris is composed of four interlacing quadrants of muscle (Photo K – right side only): upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right. Further, each quadrant is divided into two parts: fibers of the vermillion zone form pars marginalis (Latin meaning marginal part) and fibers outside the vermillion border form pars
peripheralis (peripheral part). Doing simple math, this means our oral fissure is surrounded by eight interactive layers of orbicularis oris. This arrangement lends major control over shape so orbicularis oris is proficient at closing and puckering the lips.
Also, notice the mass labeled modiolus (Photo K)? This is a paired fibromuscular node just inside the commissures of each lip.
Try this: slip a clean thumb inside a corner of your mouth about 0.5 in (1.25 cm); close your index finger against the thumb. You should feel a thickening; this is the modiolus. At least seven facial muscles connect to or pass through each modiolus (one on each side) making it extremely important to facial symmetry. While performing surgery of the lip area, reconstructive surgeons strive to symmetrically align the modioli (pl.); once these are secured, associated facial muscles of each side are more likely to balance. Notice that orbicularis oris fibers attach to the modiolus.
Photo K
The following line drawing (Photo L) shows how the upper lip changes shape during contraction of orbicularis oris. Imagine a midline vertical slice (midsagittal plane) through the upper lip, then view it from the side; the stick drawing is a simple rendering of that slice. The pink line shows the lip shape at rest; the blue line shows the lip flattened during a pucker. The shape-shifting is due to contraction of orbicularis oris.
Photo L
Here’s a verra good example of lip puckering by Jamie’s orbicularis oris as he plants a lovely one on Claire’s lips. Good job, lad! He’s a terrific anatomical model as I keep saying (over and over and over). Ha! Well, it’s true!
Time for another interlude: how about this image from Starz episode 107, The Weddingat the end of the first amorous kiss between Jamie and Claire? Oh, Jamie, your lip looks a wee bit swollen. Did you get thumped by a horse? Those fillies can be
dangerous! Whinny!
And yet another drop-dead wonderful kiss between our hero and heroine! The next quote doesn’t exactly fit wi’ the image (Start episode 107, The Wedding) but I’m betting ye can suffer through it. Herself writes in Outlander book:
“He leaned down and gently fitted his mouth over mine. I had kissed my share of men…Jamie, though, was something different. His extreme gentleness was in no way tentative; rather it was a promise of power known and held in leash; a challenge and a provocation the more remarkable for its lack of demand. I am yours, it said. And if you will have me, then…I would, and my mouth opened beneath his…”
Hey, yoo hoo, back to anatomy. I think I lost ye again, ha ha! It’s OK, I lost it myself…So, you may recall that several muscles of facial expression insert into orbicularis oris (Anatomy Lesson #11 and Anatomy Lesson #13) adding their tug on the lips. LLSAN, levator labii superioris and zygomaticus minor act as retractors to lift and curl the upper lip; platysma and depressor labii inferioris pull down and curl the lower lip
(Photo M). The left side of the drawing (on your right) shows the pull of the three elevator and two depressor muscles acting as retractors on orbicularis oris.
All of this detail reveals that our lips have a complex muscular framework, an arrangement lending impressive control over the lips and how they might engage in kissing: pucker, no pucker, curl, no curl, suction to produce a smack. Aye, if the lips are slightly curled and mild suction applied, the kiss produces an audible smacking sound. Re-watch (for the umpteenth time) Starz episode 107, The Wedding, and listen to the end of the wedding kiss; you hear a soft smack. Verra, erm, satisfying! Now ye know how that happens.
Photo M
Many would argue that a kiss will be neither complete nor completely satisfying without a wee bit of tongue. I dinna have space to cover all tongue anatomy which is complex and lengthy. But a brief keek will suffice. The tongue core is very nearly all muscle; it participates in swallowing, taste, and speech. Its free surfaces are covered
with wet mucosa similar to that of the inner lips. Its top and sides are embellished with wee bumps, the papillae, some of which house taste buds. Photo N is an image of the tongue taken with a scanning electron microscope (SEM – Anatomy Lesson #5 and Anatomy Lesson #6), an instrument that greatly magnifies an object because it illuminates using an electron beam rather than light rays. Papillae on the top of the tongue are very apparent (red arrows). Check out your own papillae in a mirror; they come in 3 or 4 different shapes. Your taste buds are microscopic so ye cannot see them.
Photo N
For the tongue to join in a kiss, its muscles must activate. Hard to believe but the tongue contains nine different muscles: four paired and one unpaired (Photo O)! Paired muscles are extrinsic meaning they arise from surfaces outside the tongue but end within it. The unpaired muscle, consisting of four layers, is intrinsic meaning the layers arise from and end within the tongue itself.
Genioglossus arises from inside the mandible, fans out and ends
near the midline of the tongue. Acting with its mate, it protrudes the tip of
the tongue. Look in the mirror and stick out your tongue – genioglossus muscles working!
Hyoglossus arises from hyoid bone (Anatomy Lesson #12) and inserts
at the sides of tongue. Together they depress (pull down) the tongue.
Styloglossus arises from the styloid processes (Anatomy Lesson #12
– aye, those gothic spikes!) and blends with the above two muscles. Together, they retract the tongue – pull your tongue back in your mouth – styloglossus muscles working!
Palatoglossus arises from the palate and inserts into sides of tongue.
Together with its mate, it lifts the sides of tongue.
But, perhaps the four layers of intrinsic muscle are most appreciated in kissing. They arise from various parts of the tongue and blend with the extrinsic muscles. Acting alone or together the four layers curl, shorten, dome, narrow, elongate, widen or fatten the tongue. Whew, that’s quite a list! Intrinsic muscles give the tongue precise and highly variable mobility for speech, swallowing and (although not listed anatomy texts) for kissing! So, consider this is why a kiss with tongue can be so remarkably creative. Try it out! Ye have my permission.
Photo O
This last image (Starz, episode 107, The Wedding) is dark, but here Jamie serves once again as our anatomical model; the camera clearly loves him! This is just after Claire wraps him in a lover’s shroud of his own plaid. Oh, aye, his tongue is involved in this kiss. If ye canna see it here, go watch the episode again. OK, ye can all get up off the floor now!
So kisses involve lips and mayhap tongue and given the number of muscles involved
humans are granted considerable creative license in their use. Hope ye get to use yours on this beloved day and that ye all enjoyed learning about those busy lips and tongues and the anatomy of a kiss.
And if ye dinna have a partner today, then remember that your body contain trillions of cells each whispering “Tha gaol agam ort!” Gaelic for “I love you!” If our cells didna care, we probably wouldn’t exist.
Let’s end the lesson with a wonderful quote from Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1802–1885):
“How did it happen that their lips came together?
How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts,
that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill?
A kiss, and all was said.”
And for those who are new to my blog, a wee note of explanation: I follow the convention of using Outlander character’s names rather than actor’s names. This gives the cast at least one degree of separation and a wee bit of respect as I
dissect their bodies with words! I hope ye all understand!
