LARYNGEAL WHISTLING* 
J. O. ROE, M.D., 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
Miss Julia C., set. twenty-one years, the daughter of a clergyman, 
was referred to me for treatment for a mild pharyngo-laryngeal 
catarrh, Nov. 26, 1880. 
While examining her for the above difficulty she called my at- 
tention to a peculiar power that she possessed, viz., that of whistling 
with the lower part of her throat at will, without the aid of her 
lips or any portion of the buccal cavity. 
On requesting her to give an exhibition she at once whistled a 
tune through for me as perfectly as one can with the lips. The 
only difference noticeable was that it was in quite a low key, and 
sounded as if she was at quite a little distance from me or in an- 
other room. 
To ascertain positively where this sound came from I had her 
whistle “ Yankee Doodle ” while I watched the movements of the 
larynx in the laryngeal mirror. 
On producing the whistle, the vocal cords were drawn tense and 
the chink of the glottis nearly closed. The ventricular bands 
were approximated and puckered up, leaving an elliptical opening 
in the centre through which the vocal cords could be seen with 
their thin edges vibrating. The contraction of the ventricular 
bands was assisted by the contraction of the thyro-ary-epiglot- 
ticus, as the epiglottis and arytenoid cartilages were more or less 
approximated ; but on producing high tones the arytenoid carti- 
lages were drawn up under the epiglottis instead of the epiglottis 
being drawn downward. 
Thus it could be distinctly seen that the fundamental tones 
* Read before the American Laryngological Association, session 1881. 
Reprinted from the Archives of Laryngology, Vol. iii, No. 1, Jan., 1882. 2 
Laryngeal Whistling. 
of the laryngeal whistle were produced by the vibrations of the 
edges of the vocal cords, the tone being modulated by the minute 
adjustment of the ventricular bands which regulated the laryngeal 
opening above the cords. 
In addition to the assistance of the ventricular bands in modu- 
lating the tone they also pressed firmly down on the vocal cords, 
closed the ventricles, and acted as a damper in preventing the 
cords from vibrating except for about one third of their length in 
the centre. This sphincter-like action of these muscles corres- 
ponds with the position which Gordon Holmes1 believes the 
larynx to assume in the production of the falsetto notes. 
This young lady says she has been able to whistle in this man- 
ner since childhood, and previous to two years ago, when her 
throat began to give her trouble, she also possessed some ven- 
triloquial powers. 
In order to ascertain if this phenomenon was due to the 
fact of her possessing this ventriloquial power, I have since 
taken the occasion of examining the larynx of a profes- 
sional ventriloquist. 
I discovered in him that he produced the primary ven- 
triloquial tones in precisely the same manner, i. e., the larynx 
assumed exactly the same shape that the young lady’s did 
while whistling. He was unable to produce a laryngeal 
whistle, but he told me of two other ventriloquists who 
were able to whistle very loudly with the larynx alone, the 
mouth being closed, and who could give beautiful imitations 
of canaries and other whistling birds. 
This shows the ventriloquial power to be due to the 
ability of modulating the tones in the larynx with little or 
no assistance of the organs above, except to deflect the sound 
or “throw the voice,” as they term it, in the direction from 
which the performer wishes it to appear that it originated. 
This phenomenon of laryngeal whistling is certainly a very 
interesting physiological and vocal curiosity, occurring as it 
does in a person who has never cultivated any fancy vocal 
gymnastics, as is the case with ventriloquists. 
No cases of the kind that I have been able to find are re- 
corded. 
1 “ Vocal Physiology and Hygiene,” London, 1879, p. 116. J. O. Roe. 
3 
On inquiring of other physicians I have found but two 
who have seen cases of this kind, viz., Dr. Elsberg, of New 
York, and Dr. Moore, of Rochester. 
Dr. Elsberg has seen two cases, both young ladies between 
twenty and thirty years of age, who could whistle with the 
larynx alone moderately loud. 
Dr. Elsberg also stated to me that my observations in re- 
gard to the manner in which the sounds were produced and 
the position assumed by the larynx, as detailed above, cor- 
responded exactly with the observations which he had made 
in his cases. 
Dr. Moore has seen one case, that of a girl five or six 
years old, who could whistle in a medium tone with the 
larynx at will, and could imitate a bird-call. When quite 
young she could whistle in this manner any tunes that were 
familiar to her, but as she grew older she lost this power, 
from want of cultivation, but retained the ability to produce 
different sounds and the bird-call. 
No laryngoscopical examination in this case was made. 
Since writing the above I have heard of another case of 
laryngeal whistling through a non-medical friend, that of a 
little boy being able to whistle very loudly with his mouth 
wide open.