THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL UPPER AIRWAY, its mechanical properties, and the muscles that control its shape and size are complex (Fig. 1). As highlighted by Fregosi and Ludlow (7) in their mini-review on activation of upper airway muscles during breathing and swallowing, precise coordination of the upper airway is essential for efficient swallowing. Sleep and the supine posture place additional demands...

reinforced tubes are commonly used to minimize the opportunity of upper airway obstruction in patients at risk. there are a few reports of the airway obstruction resulted from kinked reinforced tubes. this report describes the obstruction of a reinforced tube in an adult patient who underwent tonsillectomy. under general anesthesia; an armoured endotracheal tube was inserted into the trachea un...

abstract acute upper airway obstruction (uao) is a life threatening complication that is well recognized after carotid endarterectomy, thyroidectomy and pharyngeal area intervention. it is not widely acknowledged that airway obstruction can occur after cervical spinal fusion surgery which was first described in 1955. there are a number of common postoperative problems which may become apparent ...

Monitoring variations in the upper airway narrowing during sleep is invasive and expensive. Since snoring sounds are generated by air turbulence and vibrations of the upper airway due to its narrowing; snoring sounds may be used as a non-invasive technique to assess upper airway narrowing. Our goal was to develop a subject-specific acoustic model of the upper airway to investigate the impacts o...

The aim of the present retrospective study was to evaluate the influence of age and gender on upper and lower airway width and upper lip length. In this study, 390 lateral cephalograms were divided into 13 age groups (ranging from 6 to 18 years) and were analyzed. The intergroup differences were analyzed using a MANOVA (Multivariate Analysis of the Variance), and the intragroup differences were...

Snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) both exhibit multilevel upper airway obstruction. The Importance of evaluating the dynamics of the obstructing upper airway cannot be emphasised enough. Accurate assessment and evaluation of the upper airway could potentially lead to improved surgical and non-surgical treatment outcomes. Most of these patients would have undergone an ambulatory sleep s...

The pathophysiology of obstructive sleep apnea can be explained by collapse of upper airways secondary to the negative intra-pharyngeal pressure that develops during inspiration [4]. In addition, during sleep, muscles in the mouth relax and tongue and other structures tend to fall toward the back of the mouth causing crowding in the upper airway region with more potential for upper airway obstr...

This article has reviewed the anatomic, compliance, reflex, and respiratory muscle variables that affect upper airway caliber and abnormalities which may precipitate upper airway collapse during sleep. One or more of these variables may be important in the mechanism of OSA in any given patient. First, anyone with anatomic narrowing of the upper airway is susceptible to OSA. However, we do know ...