The upper lip covers the anterior surface of the body of the maxilla.
Its upper half is of usual skin color and has a depression at its center, directly under the nasal septum, called the philtrum, which is Latin for lower nose, while its lower half is a markedly different, red-colored skin tone more similar to the color of the inside of the mouth, and the term vermillion refers to the colored portion of either the upper or lower lip.
It is raised by the Levator labii superioris and is connected to the lower lip by the thin lining of the lip itself, which can be seen by opening your mouth wide in front of a mirror.
Thinning of the vermilion of the upper lip and flattening of the philtrum are two of the facial characteristics of Fetal alcohol syndrome, a lifelong disability caused by the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.
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