Retina

We just learned about the Cornea.

Another part of the eye is the Retina.

Remember that the black pupil in the eye is really just a hole for the light to come in.
The black color of the pupil comes from the inside of the eye, where the light hits the retina.

The retina is in the back of the eye.
Inside the eye it is shaped like a ball, with the pupil as the hole to let light in, and the retina as inside of the ball at the back.

The retina helps take the light that shines on it, and turn it into signals that are sent to the brain so you can understand what you are seeing.


(from: wikipedia - retina)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tooth Enamel

Cornea

We just learned about how we get different Eye Colors.

Another part of the human eye is the Cornea.

This is the clear bubble that is on the front part of your eye.

It works kind of like a magnifying glass, and helps bring light into the eye so you can see.


(from: wikipedia - cornea)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Tooth Impaction

Eye Color

We just learned about the Iris that opens and closes the pupil.

Another part of the eye is the Eye Color.

The iris we learned about has two parts in it that help make up the eye color.
One is the stroma, and the other is the IPE, which stands for Iris Pigment Epithelium.

That's a lot of big words, but it basically means a bunch of stringy like parts that can have different colors that all blend together to make up your eye color.

The part the really makes a difference is something called melanin.
This is basically like dark paint that your body makes, and the more if it you make the darker your skin, hair and eyes are.

So someone with black hair, dark brown skin and brown eyes has a lot of melanin.
Someone with blond hair, pale skin and blue eyes, has less melanin.


(from: wikipedia - eye color)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dental Notation - Palmer

Iris

We just learned about the Pupil black circle in the eye.

Another part of the eye is the Iris.

The iris is the part of the eye with color.
Most eyes are either brown or blue, but they can be other colors like green, hazel, grey or red.

Remember that the pupil is just a hole that lets light in to the eye to see.
The iris has the muscles that make the pupil bigger or smaller.


(from: wikipedia - iris (anatomy))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dental Notation - ISO

Pupil

Let's learn more about the Human Eyes.

One important part of the eye that we see every day is the Pupil.

The pupil is the big black circle in the middle of the eye.
Even though it looks like it is painted black, the pupil is actually just a hole!
There are parts covering the pupil, and parts of the eye behind it.

This hole in your eyeball gets bigger and smaller to let in more or less light depending on how bright it is.

If you go to the eye doctor, they will put liquid drops in your eyes to make your pupils really big, and then they look right through the pupil into the other parts of the eye.


(from: wikipedia - pupil)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dental Notation - Universal Numbering

Eyes

We've now learned a whole lot about the mouth, from teeth to tastebuds to Tonsils!

Let's start learning about the human Eyes.

The eyes give people the ability to take in light and turn it into shapes and figures that our brain can understand, and help us see.

Human eyes can see about 10 million colors, they can work together as two eyes to tell how close or far away something is, and can see things from specs of dirt on the ground to stars in the sky millions of miles away.


(from: wikipedia - human eye)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hypodontia

Tonsils

We just learned about the Parotid Gland.

Another part of the mouth is the Tonsils.

Usually when people talk about tonsils they mean the two lumps at the back of the throat.
There is one on the left and one on the right.

The big long name for these is the palatine tonsils or faucial tonsils.

There are actually three types of tonsils:
- Palatine tonsils - At the back of the throat
- Tubal tonsils - Behind the throat and almost back by the ear
- Adenoids, also called the pharyngeal tonsil or nasopharyngeal tonsil - Up the back of the throat and behind the nose

These tonsils have special tissues in them that help fight against sickness and germs.


(from: wikipedia - palatine tonsil)



(from: wikipedia - tobal tonsil)



(from: wikipedia - adenoid)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Supernumary Teeth

Parotid Gland

We just learned about the Labial Commissure of the Mouth where your upper and lower lips meet.

Another part of the mouth is the Parotid Gland.

This is the part of the body that makes saliva or spit and sends it out to the parts of the mouth that need it.


(from: wikipedia - parotid glad)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mouth - Wisdom Tooth

Labial Commissure of the Mouth

We just learned about the Frenulum of the Lower Lip.

Another part of the mouth is the Labial Commissure of the Mouth.

This is a big long name that really just means the corner of your mouth where your upper and lower lips meet.

The word labial means lips, and commissure means joining.


(from: wikipedia - labial commissure of mouth)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Maxillary Second Molar

Frenulum of Lower Lip

We just learned about the White Roll at the top of the upper lip.

Another part of the mouth is the Frenulum of Lower Lip.

We learned before about the little piece of skin under the tongue called the frenulum.
It is not the only thing called a frenulum in the body though!

Another frenulum is down at the bottom middle of the inside of the lower lip, right where it meets the gums.
If you put your tongue down there you can usually feel a little piece of skin there.


(from: wikipedia - frenulum of lower lip)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Maxillary First Molar

White Roll

We just learned about the bumpy spot on the upper lip called the Philtrum.

Another part of the mouth is the White Roll.

Right above where the lip changes from pink to normal skin color, there is a line where it is lighter than the rest of the skin on the face.
For a light skinned person this is almost white, so it is called the white roll.
For a dark skinned person it won't be white, but it will be lighter than the rest of the skin on the face.

The white roll shows up more for young people, and as people get older it gets less white and sticks out less.
Sometimes people will go get plastic surgery to make it stick out more to make themselves look young again.


(from: wikipedia - white roll)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Maxillary Second Preomlar

Philtrum

We just learned about the Vermillion Border no the top of the lip.

Another part of the mouth is the Philtrum.

The philtrum is on the outside of the upper lip, right in the middle, going from the nose to the lip.

For most people this is a little indent or groove.
Some scientists think that this part of the lip used to be used to try and help guide smells up to the nose, back when we used to have to hunt or smell our food more to see if it was ok to eat.


(from: wikipedia - philtrum)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Maxillary First Premolar

Vermillion Border

We just learned about the line of the top of the lips called the Cupid's Bow.

Another part of the lip is the Vermillion Border.

Vermillion is actually a word that means red.
The vermillion border is the place where the lip skin changes from pink or red to the color of the rest of the face.

(from: wikipedia - vermillion Border)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Maxillary Canine

Cupid's Bow

We just learned about the Lips that help us eat and protect our mouth.

Another part of the mouth is the Cupid's Bow.

This is the shape of the line on the upper lip, that is shaped kind of like a bow for a bow and arrow.

Because it is shaped like a bow, and because people use lips for kissing, this part of the mouth got the nickname cupid's bow.


(from: wikipedia - cupid's bow)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Maxillary Lateral Incisor

Lips

We just learned about the part on the roof of the mouth called the Palatine Raphe.

Another part of the mouth is the Lips.
The big long names for the upper and lower lips are the Labium superius oris and "Labium inferius oris.
Labium means lip, superius and inferius are for upper and lower, and then oris is for the face, near the mouth.

The lips have no sweat glands, and can not grow hair.
Skin on the lips is softer than the face skin.

Most of the skin on the face has 16 layers, but the skin on the lips only has about 4 layers.
It also doesn't have the same coloring cells as the face does, so you can see right through the top skin and see the blood vessels underneath it.
That's why the lips are pink or red, because of the blood vessels underneath.

There are a whole bunch of muscles for the lips that we learned about a while ago:
Upper lip: levator labii superioris and levator anguli oris
Lower lip: depressor anguli oris, depressor labii inferioris, mentalis

Lips are used to open and close for food, to help make sounds when we talk, and also to kiss!
Because lips are on the human face, people try very hard to make their lips look nice, sometimes using makeup or lip gloss, and sometimes even having surgery to make their lips look bigger.

The lips are very important to keep healthy, which is why there are things like lip balm to protect them.
Healthy lips help protect the mouth from the outside, and keep a healthy mouth!


(from: wikipedia - lip)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Central Incisors

Palatine Raphe

We just learned about the bump of skin behind your front teeth called the Incisive Papilla.

Another part of the mouth is the Palatine Raphe.

This is the bump on the roof of the mouth in the middle that goes from front to back.
Some people have a big bump that sticks out, but for others it is just a little bump.


(from: wikipedia - palatine raphe)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Baby Teeth

Incisive Papilla

We just learned about the ridges on the roof of the mouth called the Palatal Rugae.

Another part of the inside of the mouth is the Incisive Papilla.

Right behind the top two front teeth called incisors is a little bump of skin that sticks down.
A bump in mouth medical words is usually called a "papilla" and its right behind the incisors so it's called the incisive papilla.
It's usually right in the middle, and you can feel it with your tongue right behind the teeth.


(from: wikipedia - incisor)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Teeth

Palatal Rugae

We just learned about the soft part on the roof of the mouth called the Soft Palate.

Another part of the top of the mouth is the Palatal Rugae.

These are the little ridges on the top of the mouth behind the teeth.
Because of the way they are shaped, they help move food toward the back of the mouth.

Palatal means it is on the hard palate in the mouth, and the word rugae (sounds like roo-gah-ee) means ridges.


(from: wikipedia - rugae)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Human Mouth

Soft Palate

We just learned about the Hard Palate on the roof of the mouth.

Another part of the mouth is the Soft Palate.

This is on the roof of your mouth, right at the back of your throat.
You can feel that this is soft, and under the skin are five different muscles that help you swallow.

They all have big long names, but they make sense if you understand what they are doing:

- Levator & Tensor veli palatini - Lift and tightens up the palate to block the back of the throat so food doesn't go up to your nose

- Palatoglossus & Palatopharyngeus - Use the palate muscles to pull on the back of your throat (pharynx) to close up the place where you breathe (trachea) and make sure the food goes down the esophagus where it's supposed to

- Musculus uvulae - Moves the uvula to help block food from going up your nose


(from: wikipedia - soft palate)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Interphalangeal Ligaments

Hard Palate

We just learned about the Sublingual Caruncle.

Another part of the mouth is the Hard Palate.

This is the roof of your mouth, right over your tongue.
You can push up on it with your tongue, and it is hard because there is bone right there underneath the skin.


(from: wikipedia - hard palate)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Metatarsal Ligaments