Another hiccup at British Biotech

British Biotech plc

Why do we hiccup?

Why do we hiccup? Considering the fact that almost everyone experiences hiccups at one time or another, remarkably little is known about them. The name itself is onomatopoeic, which is appropriate considering that the only common understanding of the hiccup is of the characteristic sound. Hiccups can be predictably elicited in some individuals by overindulgence of food, alcohol, or both, someti...

Another Look at the Hypocrisy of Chaucer’s Pardoner

For us, readers of Chaucer living in an age when appeal to religious passions and sentiments as a means for the realization of worldly objectives by some charlatans has grown significantly, reviewing the theme of religious hypocrisy treated in The Canterbury Tales can be useful in a way that it proves a helpful means for recognizing and dealing with the hypocrites. The Pardoner of the Tales is ...

A Case of Persistent Hiccup

Linkage of hiccup with heartbeat.

We explored a possible link between the cardiac cycle and the timing of recurrent hiccups in 10 patients with chronic, intractable hiccups. Recordings made during daytime naps in a sleep laboratory included sleep state; electrocardiogram; and respiration by means of a thermistor to detect airflow, bands around the rib cage and abdomen to assess expansion, and a bipolar surface electrode electro...