306 
but the professed anatomist) constitute 
that knot or protuberance, at the upper 
part of the throat, so conspicuons in 
the male subject; and which some of 
our old fanciful anatomists (by an ob- 
vious allusion) have called the Pomum 
Apamti, or Apam’s Appi :* an organ 
which, by its action and re-action, 
forms the alternation of heavy and light 
sound (the thesis and arsis of the Greek 
grammarians) in the cadences of the 
voice; and which constitute the natural 
basis of all our perceptions of cadence 
and rhythmus, in spoken language and 
in song. 
These cartilages (or at least those 
two of them that form the front of the 
throat) are sufficiently exposed, both to 
the sense of touch and of vision, to fall 
under tolerably accurate examination 
in the living subject. Dissection, in- 
deed, does not carry us so much fur- 
ther, as to enable us to discover the 
exact mode of that action and re-action, 
or pulsation and remission, by which 
the phenomena, I ascribed to them, is 
produced ; but that such pulsation and 
remission does, in reality, take place, 
during the exertions of the voice (whe- 
ther in cadences of continued speech or 
of song) is sufficiently obvious; and 
diligent observation will, I think, con- 
vince us, that these alterations are co- 
incident with certain primary, indis- 
pensable and obyious alternations of the 
voice, in such successive utterance: an 
* The entire organ is thus described by 
anatomists :—‘* The larynx is composed of 
five cartilages. The uppermost of these is 
placed over the glottis, or mouth of the 
larynx, and is called epiglottis, which per- 
forms the office of closing the passage to 
the lungs in the act of swallowing. At 
the sides of the glottis are placed the two 
arytenoide cartilages. The anterior and 
larger part of the larynx is made up of two 
cartilages, one of which is called thyroides 
or scutiformis, from its being shaped like a 
buckler; and the other crycotdes annularis, 
from its resembling a ring. Both these 
cartilages may be felt immediately under 
the skin, at the fore part of the throat, 
where the thyroides forms an eminence 
called pomum ddami. All these cartilages 
are united to each other by means of very 
elastic ligamentous fibres ; and are enabled, 
by the assistance of their seyeral muscles, 
to dilate or contract the passage of the 
larynx, and to perform that variety of mo- 
tion which seems to point out the larynx 
as the principal organ of yoice; for when 
the air passes out through a wound in the 
trachea, it produces no sound.” —Encyc. 
Brit. 
The Anatomy of Speech. 
[May 1, 
alternation, which I conceive to have 
been designated by the Greek gramma- 
rians, by the terms ¢hesis and arsis 
(corresponding with the posing and 
rising of musicians); and to which, in 
imitation of Mr. Steele, I assign the 
simple English names of heavy and 
light.+ 
To this crgan, then, (the pomum 
adami) are to be assigned the important 
functions of determining, by the volun- 
tary force, quantum and momentum of 
its pulsations, the degree of force, or 
power, in the original impulse of every 
vocal sound—the alterations and marked 
varieties of heavy and light in the succes- 
sions of thosesounds—and the rapidity or 
slowness with which those characteristic 
alternations should succeed to each other. 
The implements already described 
give to the human, and to other voices, 
the powers and properties of a canular 
instrument; but it has, also, other ap- 
paratus that superadd the expression 
which belongs to stringed instruments, 
and enable it to approximate to the harp 
as well as the organ—the viol, as well 
as the flute: namely, 
4, Tur Muscutar Fisres anp Li- 
GAMENTs, connected with the apparatus 
already described ; and which not only 
officiate in directing the motions of those 
essential members of the larynx, but 
also, by their tension and vibrations, in 
modifying still further the primary im- 
pulses of sound, and imparting to them 
a specific character. 
Such is the complicated organ, upon 
whose impulses depend the primary and 
most important characteristics of vocal 
sound ! 
Nor 
+ Prosopia RaATIONALIs.—Mr. Steele, 
with great precision and felicity of percep- 
tion, has marked the existence of these al- 
ternations ; but, overlooking the physical 
cause from which they proceed, has treated 
them rather as varieties introduced by elec- 
tion and taste, than as the results of 
the successive action and reaction imposed 
upon our organs by the indispensable laws 
of nature. Prior to my meeting with Mr. 
Steele’s book, I had contradistinguished 
these syllabic alternations by the terms 
pulsative and remiss : indicating the qualities 
of the syllables by the causes of their re- 
spective phenomena. But it is of great 
importance to the progress of science, that 
those who treat of the same subject should 
use, as far as accuracy will permit, the 
same terms to indicate the same ideas; I 
adopted, therefore, the names which I found 
had been already used. 
