Rare diseases · Sign or symptom

Orofacial cleft

Cleft of the mouth

HP:0000202

What it means

The presence of a cleft (gap, opening, or groove) in the oral cavity, including cleft of the upper lip and/or cleft of the palate. Cleft of the upper lip is visible as a groove or fissure in the lip, most frequently due to a congenital failure of the maxillary and median nasal processes to fuse. Cleft palate is characterized by a grooved depression or fissure in the roof of the mouth, most often resulting from a congenital failure of the palate to fuse properly. Clefts of the lip and palate can occur individually or together. It is preferable to code each defect separately.

Rare diseases that can present with this69

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Cleft lip, cleft palate · Cleft lip/palate · Oral cleft · Oral clefting

Orofacial cleft

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This page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.