Chap. XIII. Of the Neck.
AN Appendix or Appurtenance to the* 1.1 middle Belly. is the NECK, as a medi∣um between the Head and the Chest.
'Tis termed Collum a Colendo, because it is wont to be adorned: or a Colle* 1.2 from an Hillock, for it arises out of the Body, as an Hill out of the rest of the Earth.
'Tis oblong for the modulation of the* 1.3 Voice; and therefore Animals which utter no true Voice, as Fishes and Frogs, have no Necks: and those which make the greatest Voice, have the longest Necks, as Cranes and Geese, &c. By the use of Venery the thickness of the Neck is altered, because heat distends the Aspera Arteria, the Carotides, and the Jugular Veins. Whence it was an ordinary Practice among the Romans to measure the Brides Neck the day after the Wedding, by which they knew whether she were a Virgin or Corrupted, as we learn out of Catullus and Mercurialis.
The hinder part of the Neck is proper∣ly termed Cervix. Now the parts of the* 1.4 Neck are either external, as the Skin, Muscles, &c. or internal; as the Vessels which run through the Trachea and Oesophagus: of the latter I have spoken, of the rest I shall speak in their proper places.
The Use of the Neck is, 1. For the Oeso∣phagus, Wesand, and Lungs. Hence Crea∣tures* 1.5 that have no Lungs, as Fishes, have no Necks. 2. To be instead of an Hand to some Creatures, to take their meat with, according to Ga∣len. 3. That it may afford Nerves to the fore-parts, the Shoulder, Cubit, Hand, Midriff; for those crea∣tures only have these parts who have Necks.