Tessier 3 Cleft in a Pre-Hispanic Anthropomorphic Figurine in El Salvador, Central America
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Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Raising the Mexican Tetra Astyanax mexicanus for Analysis of Post-larval Phenotypes and Whole-mount Immunohistochemistry
Published on: December 28, 2018
Abstract:
In 1976, Paul Tessier provided a numerical classification system for rare facial clefts, numbered from 0 to 14. The Tessier 3 cleft is a rare facial cleft extending from the philtrum of the upper lip through the wing of the nostril, and reaches the medial canthus of the eye. The aim of this document was to describe a pre-Hispanic anthropomorphic figurine dating from the classic period (200 A.D.-900 A.D.), which has a Tessier 3 cleft. We also discuss the documented pre-Hispanic beliefs about facial clefts.
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