Biomaterial Database

Some factors affecting the maintenance of upper airway patency in man. 1991

R L Horner, and A Guz

Department of Medicine, Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, London, U.K.

This paper describes some of the anatomical and physiological factors affecting the maintenance of upper airway patency in man. Such factors have particular relevance to the mechanisms responsible for maintaining upper airway patency during sleep, and the failure of these mechanisms in patients with the clinical syndrome of obstructive sleep apnoea: a condition in which repeated episodes of sleep-related inspiratory oropharyngeal collapse lead to recurrent hypoxaemia, disturbed sleep patterns and other clinical sequelae. The relationships between upper airway geometry, negative intrapharyngeal pressure, activation of upper airway dilator muscles, and sleep state are important factors affecting the maintenance of upper airway patency. The aim of this paper is not to consider such factors in isolation but to consider their interaction in affecting the adequacy of the upper airspace as a conduit for airflow.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009132	Muscles	Contractile tissue that produces movement in animals.	Muscle Tissue,Muscle,Muscle Tissues,Tissue, Muscle,Tissues, Muscle
D009960	Oropharynx	The middle portion of the pharynx that lies posterior to the mouth, inferior to the SOFT PALATE, and superior to the base of the tongue and EPIGLOTTIS. It has a digestive function as food passes from the mouth into the oropharynx before entering ESOPHAGUS.	Oropharynxs
D012123	Pulmonary Ventilation	The total volume of gas inspired or expired per unit of time, usually measured in liters per minute.	Respiratory Airflow,Ventilation Tests,Ventilation, Pulmonary,Expiratory Airflow,Airflow, Expiratory,Airflow, Respiratory,Test, Ventilation,Tests, Ventilation,Ventilation Test
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012891	Sleep Apnea Syndromes	Disorders characterized by multiple cessations of respirations during sleep that induce partial arousals and interfere with the maintenance of sleep. Sleep apnea syndromes are divided into central (see SLEEP APNEA, CENTRAL), obstructive (see SLEEP APNEA, OBSTRUCTIVE), and mixed central-obstructive types.	Apnea, Sleep,Hypersomnia with Periodic Respiration,Sleep-Disordered Breathing,Mixed Central and Obstructive Sleep Apnea,Sleep Apnea, Mixed,Sleep Apnea, Mixed Central and Obstructive,Sleep Hypopnea,Apnea Syndrome, Sleep,Apnea Syndromes, Sleep,Apneas, Sleep,Breathing, Sleep-Disordered,Hypopnea, Sleep,Hypopneas, Sleep,Mixed Sleep Apnea,Mixed Sleep Apneas,Sleep Apnea,Sleep Apnea Syndrome,Sleep Apneas,Sleep Apneas, Mixed,Sleep Disordered Breathing,Sleep Hypopneas