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Darwin Correspondence Project

From R. A. Vance   10 November 1879

113 West Ninth Street | Cincinnati, Ohio,

Nov. 10th. 1879

Charles Darwin, F.R.S., | Downs, | Kent, | England,

My dear Sir;

I have by no means forgotten the kindly manner in which you responded to my inquiries relative to certain points in the anatomy of the lining membrane of that portion of the intestinal canal in the lower animals which corresponds, in man, to the mucous membrane of the rectum, and, as several y⁠⟨⁠ea⁠⟩⁠rs may elapse before I revisit England, I beg you to accept the copy of my monograph on the Rectum and its Diseases which will be handed you by the bearer, my friend J. H. Letcher, M.D., of Henderson, Kentucky.1 I beg to call your attention to the IXth article, entitled: “Observations on those Structures in the Mucous Membrane of the Human Rectum known as the Valves of Houston”.2 Now that the profits of Chirurgery have seduced me from the more pleasing pursuits of Physiology, I may be unable t⁠⟨⁠o⁠⟩⁠ follow out the path those cur⁠⟨⁠i⁠⟩⁠ous structures opened before me, but I can never forget the kindly manner in which you encouraged and aided me at a time, when the merest reference to the line of inquiry I was following but too frequently evoked incredulity or contempt—and that too on the part of those whose position and character should have been a guaranty of other and better things.

My friend Doctor Letcher, the bearer, has been a deeply interested student in the same line, and now visits London for professional improvement. The Doctor will bear me out in this; Should you ever visit us here in America you would find how highly you are revered, how warmly you are esteemed—not by any one profession nor the representatives of any one branch of research but—by all intelligent men as the representative and recognised leader in Science!

Trusting many years of active usefulness are yet before you in which to enjoy your well-earned honors, I am, | My dear Sir, | Very truly and sincerely | Your Obdt Servt, | Reuben A. Vance

Footnotes

See Correspondence vol. 25, letter from R. A. Vance, 12 November 1877, and letter to R. A. Vance, 4 December 1877. Vance had suggested that the spiral folds or valves in the human rectum were ‘rudiments’ of a more ancient type of structure, and were analogous to folds in the large intestine of some animals. The results of his research were published in parts in the Cincinnati Lancet and Observer (Vance 1877–8). Vance’s friend was James Hughes Letcher.
Vance 1877–8, pp. 659–66. Vance cited CD’s discussion of rudimentary organs (see Descent 1: 17–31) in support of his argument that the rectal folds or ‘valves of Houston’ were reversions (Vance 1877–8, p. 666).

Bibliography

Vance, Reuben Aleshire. 1877–8. Diseases of the rectum. Cincinnati Lancet and Observer n.s. 20 (1877): 157–72, 359–79, 467–82, 543–52, 677–94, 779–97, 1035–48; 21 (1878): 224–41, 659–66.

Summary

Sends his article ["Diseases of the rectum", Cincinnati Lancet & Obs. 21 (1878): 224–41] through his friend, Dr Letcher.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-12306
From
Reuben Aleshire Vance
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Cincinnati, Ohio
Source of text
DAR 180: 2
Physical description
ALS 4pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12306,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12306.xml

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