Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 64.djvu/276

272 Missing or broken teeth, especially in the case of the front teeth which are more concerned in voice production, give rise to defects which are corrected when the teeth are replaced or repaired.

A catarrhal condition in the upper part of the throat, filling it with secretion, interferes with the free vibration of sound and gives an effect very similar to that due to an obstruction in the rear portion of the nostrils, as is sometimes the ease in the later stage of a severe cold.

There seems to be much misconception regarding the tonsils as a factor in voice production. It is of common occurrence for mothers to ask the physician before an operation upon the tonsil if it will not injure the voice. As a matter of fact, the healthy tonsil has no effect upon the voice, while the diseased tonsil can have only an injurious effect either directly by its size, interfering with the free vibration of the voice, or indirectly by setting up an irritation of the throat and causing the voice to be weak. The correction, or even removal, of a diseased tonsil can, therefore, have only a good influence on the voice.

There is another unhealthy condition of the throat of children which is now receiving more attention, due to the so-called 'adenoids.' In this there is an enlargement of the tissues in that part of the throat just back of the nostrils. This growth may interfere with speech either on account of the secretion which it produces or by its size, in either case obstructing the entrance of the nasal sounds into the nostril. The presence of this abnormal growth is injurious not only on account of its effect on the voice but also on the general health, as it prevents the child from breathing in the manner intended by nature, that is through the nostrils.

The nostrils are not simply openings for allowing the air to reach the lungs, but their special function is to warm, clean and moisten the air which is intended for respiration. Proof of this is shown by the fact that if we suffer from a 'cold' so that the nostrils are obstructed, an irritated throat is a certain result the next morning, being due to the fact that the unprepared air has irritated the delicate tissues of the throat. In diphtheria, for instance, if the membrane has developed in the throat and threatens the breathing of the child, and this be overcome by a tube inserted in the throat below the false membrane, respiration must now go on without the air passing through the nasal passages. The only way to counteract the evil effects of this abnormal breathing is to place the child in a room which is warmed to almost the normal temperature of the body, artificially saturated with moisture, and every endeavor made to keep it free from impurities. Even with this, the patient may develop a bronchial affection due to the absence of nasal breathing, but without it, a bronchitis, even of a fatal character, would develop in a short time. I go to some length