I thank you cordially for all your full information, and I regret much
that I have given you such great trouble at a period when your time is
so much occupied. But the facts were so valuable to me that I cannot
pretend that I am sorry that I did trouble you; and I am the less so,
as from what you say I hope you may be induced some time to write a full
account of all rudimentary structures in Man: it would be a very curious
and interesting memoir. I shall at present give only a brief abstract
of the chief facts which you have so very kindly communicated to me, and
will not touch on some of the doubtful points. I have received far more
information than I ventured to anticipate. There is one point which has
occurred to me, but I suspect there is nothing in it. If, however, there
should be, perhaps you will let me have a brief note from you, and if
I do not hear I will understand there is nothing in the notion. I have
included the down on the human body and the lanugo on the foetus as a
rudimentary representation of a hairy coat. (408/1. "Descent of Man"
I., page 25; II., page 375.) I do not know whether there is any direct
functional connection between the presence of hair and the panniculus
carnosus (408/2. Professor Macalister draws our attention to the fact
that Mr. Darwin uses the term panniculus in the generalised sense of any
sheet of muscle acting on the skin.) (to put the question under
another point of view, is it the primary or aboriginal function of the
panniculus to move the dermal appendages or the skin itself?); but both
are superficial, and would perhaps together become rudimentary. I was
led to think of this by the places (as far as my ignorance of anatomy
has allowed me to judge) of the rudimentary muscular fasciculi which you
specify. Now, some persons can move the skin of their hairy heads; and
is this not effected by the panniculus? How is it with the eyebrows? You
specify the axillae and the front region of the chest and lower part of
scapulae: now, these are all hairy spots in man. On the other hand,
the neck, and as I suppose the covering of the gluteus medius, are not
hairy; so, as I said, I presume there is nothing in this notion. If
there were, the rudiments of the panniculus ought perhaps to occur more
plainly in man than in woman...
P.S.--If the skin on the head is moved by the panniculus, I think I
ought just to allude to it, as some men alone having power to move the
skin shows that the apparatus is generally rudimentary.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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