Eyelash

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Eyelash

An eyelash or simply lash is one of the hairs that grow at the edge of the eyelid

Eyelid

An eyelid is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. With the exception of the prepuce and the labia minora, it has the thinnest skin of the whole body....
. Eyelashes protect the eye

Eye

Eyes are Organ that detect light, and send signals along the optic nerve to the visual system and other areas of the brain. Complex optical systems with resolving power have come in ten fundamentally different forms, and 96% of animal species possess a complex optical system....
from debris and perform some of the same function as whiskers

Vibrissae

Vibrissae , or whiskers, are specialized hairs, usually employed for tactile sensation, but can also refer to the stiff feathers near the mouths of some birds....
do on a cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the Domestication cat or house cat to distinguish it from other Felinae and Felidae, is a small predationy carnivore species of crepuscular mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and its ability to hunt vermin, snakes, scorpions, and other unwanted household pests....
or a mouse

Mouse

A mouse is a small animal that belongs to one of numerous species of rodents. The best known mouse species is the House Mouse . It is also a popular pet....
in the sense that they are sensitive to being touched, thus providing a warning that an object (such as an insect

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
or dust

Dust

Dust is a general name for minute solid particles with diameters less than 20 Thou . Particles in the Earth's atmosphere arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind, volcanic eruptions, and pollution....
mite) is near the eye (which is then closed reflexively

Reflex action

A reflex action, also known as a reflex, is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a Stimulus . In most contexts, in particular those involving humans, reflex actions are mediated via the reflex arc; this is not always true in other animals, nor does it apply to casual uses of the term 'reflex'....
).

eyelashes of the embryo develop between the 7th and 8th week.

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Encyclopedia

An eyelash or simply lash is one of the hairs that grow at the edge of the eyelid

Eyelid

Eye

Vibrissae

Vibrissae , or whiskers, are specialized hairs, usually employed for tactile sensation, but can also refer to the stiff feathers near the mouths of some birds....
do on a cat

Cat

Mouse

Insect

Dust

Reflex action

Human eyelashes

The eyelashes of the embryo develop between the 7th and 8th week. Eyelashes take about seven to eight weeks to grow back if pulled out. Their color may differ from that of the hair, although they tend to be dark on someone with dark hair and lighter on someone with light hair.

The follicles

Hair follicle

A hair follicle is part of the skin that grows hair by packing old Cell s together. Attached to the follicle is a sebaceous gland, a tiny sebum-producing gland found everywhere except on the hands, lips and soles of the feet....
of eyelashes are associated with a number of gland

Gland

A gland is an Organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface ....
s known as the Glands of Zeis

Glands of Zeis

Glands of Zeis are unilobar sebaceous glands located on the margin of the eyelid. The glands of Zeis service the eyelash. These glands produce an oily substance that is issued through the excretory ducts of the sebaceous lobule into the middle portion of the hair follicle....
and the Glands of Moll

Glands of Moll

Glands of Moll, also known as ciliary glands, are modified apocrine sweat glands that are found on the margin of the eyelid. They are next to the base of the eyelashes, and anterior to the Meibomian glands within the distal eyelid margin....
.

False Lashes

Fake or eyelash extensions have become increasingly popular in the U.S. in recent years and can be bought from popular supermarkets and cosmetic stores.

Cosmetics

Long eyelashes are considered a sign of femininity in many cultures. Accordingly, some women seek to enhance their eyelash length artificially. See eyelash extensions

Eyelash extensions

Like hair extensions, eyelash extensions add length to human eyelashes eyelash. Synthetic single fiber polyester thread-like materials are applied to eyelashes to create a fuller, longer look....
. On the other hand, Hadza women pluck their eyelashes completely.

Kohl

Kohl (cosmetics)

Kohl is a mixture of soot and other ingredients used predominantly by Middle Eastern, African and South Asian women, and to a lesser extent men, to darken the eyelids and as mascara for the eyelashes....
has been worn as far back as the Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is, with respect to a given prehistory, the period in that society when the most advanced metalworking included smelting copper and tin from naturally-occurring outcroppings of copper and tin ores, creating a bronze alloy by melting those metals together, and casting them into bronze artifact s....
to protect and enhance lashes. In Ancient Egypt it was used as well by the wealthy and the royal to protect their eyes from the sand, dust and bugs.

Modern eye makeup includes mascara

Mascara

Mascara is a Cosmetics used to darken, lighten or colour lashes, also it can be used to thicken, lengthen and define eyelashes. Mascara comes in three forms: liquid, cake, and cream....
, eyeliner, eye putty, and eye shadow

Eye shadow

Eye shadow is a Cosmetics that is applied on the eyelids and under the eyebrows. It is commonly used to make the wearer's eyes stand out or look more attractive....
to emphasize the eyes. The twentieth century saw the beginning of convincing-looking false eyelashes, popular in the 1960s.

Health

There are a number of diseases or disorders involving the eyelashes:

Madarosis
Madarosis

Madarosis is the absence or loss of the eyelashes , either as a congenital condition or as a result of an infection.Eg Leprosy,alopecia totalis etc....
is the loss of eyelashes
Blepharitis
Blepharitis

Blepharitis is an ocular disease characterized by inflammation of the eyelid margins. Blepharitis may cause red eye , itching and irritation of the eyelids in one or both eyes....
is the irritation of the lid margin (where eyelashes join the eyelid). Eyelids are red and itching. The skin often becomes flaky. The eyelashes may fall.
Distichiasis is the abnormal growth of lashes from certain areas of the eyelid.
Trichiasis
Trichiasis

Trichiasis is a medical term for ingrown eyelashes. This can be caused by infection, inflammation, autoimmune conditions, and Physical trauma such as burns or eyelid injury....
is ingrown eyelashes
Eyelashes may become infested with crab louse
Crab louse

The pubic or Ellyce Crabs is a parasitic insect which spends its entire life on human hair and feeds exclusively on blood. Humans are the only known host of this parasite....
parasites
An external hordeolum
Stye

A stye or hordeolum is an infection of the sebaceous glands at the base of the eyelashes. Styes are similar to chalazion, but tend to be of smaller size and feel much more painful and usually produce no lasting damage....
, or stye, is a purulent inflammation of infected eyelash follicles and surrounding sebaceous (Zeis) and apocrine (Moll) glands of the lid margin.
Trichotillomania
Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania , or "trich" as it is commonly known, is an impulse control disorder or form of self-injury characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, facial hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows or other body hair, sometimes resulting in noticeable bald patches....
is a disorder that urges the sufferer to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, etc.
Demodex folliculorum (or the demodicid), is a small mite
Mite

Mites, along with ticks, belong to the subclass Acarina and the class Arachnida. Mites are among the most diverse and successful of all the invertebrate groups....
that lives, harmlessly, in eyelash and other hair follicle
Hair follicle

A hair follicle is part of the skin that grows hair by packing old Cell s together. Attached to the follicle is a sebaceous gland, a tiny sebum-producing gland found everywhere except on the hands, lips and soles of the feet....
s and around 98% of people have these mites living on them. Occasionally they can cause blepharitis.

Eyelash and eyebrow transplant surgeries may be help to reconstruct or thicken lashes or eyebrow hair.

Nonhumans

Lashes, being hair, are found in mammal

Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
s. Camel

Camel

Camels are even-toed ungulates within the genus Camelus. The dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and is well known for its healthy low fat milk, and the Bactrian camel has two humps....
s' lashes are remarkably long and thick. Horse

Horse

The horse is a hoofed mammal, a subspecies of one of seven extant species of the family Equidae. The horse has evolution of the horse over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, odd-toed ungulate animal of today....
s, cows, and also ostrich

Ostrich

The ostrich Struthio camelus is a large flightless bird native to Africa . It is the only living species of its family , Struthionidae, and its genus, Struthio....
es, (vestigial feathers without barb

Barb (feather)

Barbs are a series of branches fused to the rachis of a feather. The barbs themselves also have branches called barbules, which have hooks that lock the barbs together....
s) feature eyelashes as well.

Inherited eyelash problems are common in some breeds of dogs.

Eyelash vipers

Bothriechis schlegelii

Bothriechis schlegelii is a venomous snake Crotalinae species found in Central America and South America. Small and arboreal, these snakes are characterized by their wide array of color variations, as well as the superciliary scales over the eyes....
show a set of modified scales

Scale (zoology)

In most biology nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration....
over the eyes which look much like eyelashes.

Hornbills have prominent feather eyelashes, an uncommon feature in birds.