From W. E. Darwin [7–15 April 1868]1
Langstaff says that he never has seen the platysma act & always looks out.2
His belief from his own experience is that it is what may be called rudimentary in Human Beings.
There is often very bad dyspnoea under Chloroform and he has lately seen a bad case of Tetynus3 where the head was thrown far back & the muscles from the shoulders acting violently, the mouth was violently clenched, & from the position of head he should have thought the platysma ought to have acted, as the clenching of the jaws would give it a purchase to act from.4
I will ask him again about this case
Footnotes
Bibliography
Descent: The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1871.
Expression: The expression of the emotions in man and animals. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.
Summary
Langstaff has never seen the platysma act, and he believes it to be rudimentary in humans.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-6076
- From
- William Erasmus Darwin
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- unstated
- Source of text
- DAR 162: 80/4
- Physical description
- AL 2pp inc
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 6076,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-6076.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 16