cleft lip

cleft lip definition - medical

cleft lip

noun
A congenital facial deformity of the lip, usually the upper lip, due to a mesodermal deficiency or to a failure of merging in one or more of the embryologic processes that form the lip; it is frequently associated with cleft tooth socket and cleft palate. Also called cheiloschisis, harelip.

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cleft lip

Left: unilateral cleft lip

Right: bilateral cleft lip

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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