Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: On the organs of the human voice / by Sir Charles Bell. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![« [ 299 ] XIV. Of the Organs of the Human Voice. By Sir Charles Bell, K.G.H. F.R.S. L. 8^ E. 8§c. &;c. ^c. Read February 2, 1832. The organs of the Human Voice are related to many interesting inquiries in science and philology; and yet it is remarkable that this subject has hitherto occupied no place in the Transactions of the Society. In a matter so open to observation as the anatomy of the throat, there can, indeed, be no new parts discovered; but it will be easy to show that their actions have been very negligently treated. It will not, I hope, lessen the interest of the inquiry, that I acknowledge having an ulterior object in it. The nerves distributed to the neck and throat are the most intricate of all. That they have not been unravelled, and dis- tinct uses assigned to each, is owing to the complexity and the numerous associations of the organs to which they tend. When we shall have seen the necessity of combination among the various parts, for producing the simplest effort of the voice, we shalffind a reason for these numerous nerves, and for their seeming irregularities. In reviewing the writings of physiologists we observe defects which are obvi- ously to be ascribed to the great complexity in the organization, and the real difficulty of the subject: but there are others which arise from the habit of resting contented with assigning one use for a part in the animal frame; whereas there is nothing which should more excite our admiration, than the variety of offices destined to be performed by the same organ. It is in contemplating the extent of combination established among the parts of the human body, that we become sensible of its perfection above all comparison with things artificial; and this is especially true with regard to the organs of the voice. They are remarkable for their union or cooperation in function ; they all perform more than one office, and are intervvoven and associated](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22414599_0005.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
