Anatomy def: Platysma is a thin, flat superficial sheet of muscle fibers extending from each clavicle (collar bone), up the neck, and ending near the angles of the mandible (lower jaw).
Outlander def: Aka, the grimacing muscles, platysmata (pl.) participate in a grimace: facial contortion due to strain, terror, disgust, pain, or wry amusement wherein strands of platysma web the neck skin! Weightlifters sometimes injury the platysmata as grimace with extraordinary effort.
See Dougal exhibit splendid radiating webs of platysma as he and his band of hairy lads demonstrate a heiland charge! Oh, a bit of Angus’ platysma, also gets into the act! Diana offers a picturesque description of Dougal’s charge (Dragonfly in Amber book):
Scottish clansmen fought according to their ancient traditions. Disdaining strategy, tactics, and subtlety, their method of attack was simplicity itself. Spotting the enemy within range, they dropped their plaids, drew their swords, and charged the foe, shrieking at the tops of their lungs. Gaelic shrieking being what it is, this method was more often successful than not. A good many enemies, seeing a mass of hairy, bare-limbed banshees bearing down on them, simply lost all nerve and fled.
Head for the hills! The Heiland Hills, that is! <G>
Learn about the platysma in Anatomy Lesson #11, Jamie’s Face or Ye do it Face to Face? and Anatomy Lesson #12, Claire’s Neck or The Ivory Tower.
Read about grimaces in Dragonfly in Amber book. The platysmata help create Jamie’s grimace:
“Haven’t you got any nerves?” I demanded of him. He grimaced at me in the mirror and put his hands over his stomach. “Aye, I have. But it takes me in the belly, not the hands. Have ye some of that stuff for cramp?”
And for Claire. Yep, she is contracting her platysmata too!
Obviously, I was going to need Jamie’s help. I grimaced at the thought of what he was likely to say about it.
See Dougal’s platysmata fully activated in Starz episode 209, Je Suis Prest, and Claire’s as she fights the effects of Colum’s fortified rhenish in Starz episode 103, The Way Out. Hic!
A deeply grateful,
Outlander Anatomist
