Male Head Infrapalpebral Sulcus, Lateral View

Description

Seen in lateral profile on the adult male face, the lower palpebra forms the inferior boundary of the palpebral fissure, with the palpebral margin curving anterior to the globe. Just inferior to that margin runs the infrapalpebral sulcus (sulcus infrapalpebralis), a horizontal groove in the thin lower eyelid skin that parallels the lid edge and transitions inferiorly into the malar (zygomatic) region of the cheek. The sulcus sits anterior to the orbital septum and inferior orbital rim, and it lies superficial to the orbicularis oculi, whose pretarsal and preseptal portions shape the surface contour. Small but diagnostic. For oculoplastic and facial plastic work, the infrapalpebral sulcus functions as a surface landmark for the lower lid cheek junction and for planning incision placement and scar camouflage in lower blepharoplasty. It also helps teach how aging, midface descent, and loss of subcutaneous volume accentuate eyelid hollows, and how edema or lower lid laxity can blur this groove while changing the perceived lid length. Surgeons correlate the visible sulcus with the deeper relationship between orbicularis oculi, the orbital septum, and the inferior orbital rim when assessing lid retraction or postoperative contour irregularities. Use this asset in head and neck anatomy teaching for surface anatomy of the orbit, in ophthalmology and plastic surgery lectures on lower eyelid landmarks, and in publisher figures discussing blepharoplasty planning, periorbital aging, or postoperative assessment of lower lid contour. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.