superciliary

Superciliary is an anatomical adjective meaning located above the eyebrow. The term derives from Latin, with super meaning above and cilium or cilium-related forms tied to the eyebrow region. In medical and anatomical usage, it describes structures in the brow area or anything situated over the eyebrow.

In human anatomy, the term often pertains to the brow ridges or superciliary arches on the frontal bone, which form the visible brow above the orbits. The prominence of these arches varies among individuals and populations; modern humans tend to have relatively reduced brow ridges compared with some ancestral or archaic humans, while certain populations exhibit more pronounced brow ridges. The region is also associated with the corrugator supercilii, a small facial muscle that originates near the medial brow and pulls the eyebrow downward and medially, contributing to facial expressions.

Beyond the skeletal context, superciliary is used to describe other features in the brow region, such as the general area above the eyes or structures closely related to the eyebrows. In paleoanthropology, brow ridges (superciliary arches) have been used as a characteristic in comparing fossil hominins and understanding evolutionary changes in facial architecture.

See also eyebrows, brow ridge, supraorbital margin, and corrugator supercilii.