Face

Face
Ventrolateral aspect of the face with skin removed, showing muscles of the face.
Details
Identifiers
Latin	Facies, facia
MeSH	A01.456.505
TA	A01.1.00.006
FMA	24728
Anatomical terminology []

The face is a central organ of sense and is also very central in the expression of emotion among humans and among numerous other species. The face is normally found on the anterior (frontal, rostral) surface of the head of animals or humans, although not all animals have faces. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities have effects stretching beyond those of solely physical inconvenience.

The front of the human head is called the face. It includes several distinct areas, of which the main features are:

Facial appearance is vital for human recognition and communication. Facial muscles in humans allow expression of emotions.

The face is itself a highly sensitive region of the human body and its expression may change when the brain is stimulated by any of the many human senses, such as touch, temperature, smell, taste, hearing, movement, hunger, or visual stimuli.

The face is the feature which best distinguishes a person. Specialized regions of the human brain, such as the fusiform face area (FFA), enable facial recognition; when these are damaged, it may be impossible to recognize faces even of intimate family members. The pattern of specific organs, such as the eyes, or of parts of them, is used in biometric identification to uniquely identify individuals.