Nishimura Tadao, Suzuki Kenji
Department of Otolaryngology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Acta Otolaryngol Suppl. 2003(550):25-8. doi: 10.1080/0365523031000061.
The anatomical states of the oral cavity and pharynx during mouth breathing in children with adenoid hypertrophy and in adults confirmed the speculation that mouth breathing is disadvantageous compared with nose breathing. In addition, comparison of the anatomical state between wakefulness and sleep in normal adults showed slight depression of the tongue root and slight narrowing of the oropharynx and hypopharynx during sleep. Obstructive sleep-disordered breathing occurs due to a variety of factors, such as paranasal sinus disease, tonsil and adenoid hypertrophy, hypertrophy and morphological abnormalities of the soft palate and palatine uvula, low-set soft palate, micrognathia, macroglossia, obesity and tongue root depression. Narrowing or obstruction of the middle pharynx and hypopharynx is more marked in patients with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing than in normal people and is especially marked during sleep. Therefore, morphological (i.e. anatomical) changes during mouth breathing may provide useful information for evaluating the pathology of snoring and sleep apnea.
腺样体肥大儿童和成人张口呼吸时口腔和咽部的解剖状态证实了这样一种推测，即与鼻呼吸相比，张口呼吸是不利的。此外，正常成年人清醒和睡眠时解剖状态的比较显示，睡眠期间舌根轻度下垂，口咽和下咽轻度变窄。阻塞性睡眠呼吸障碍是由多种因素引起的，如鼻窦疾病、扁桃体和腺样体肥大、软腭和腭垂肥大及形态异常、低位软腭、小颌畸形、巨舌症、肥胖和舌根下垂。阻塞性睡眠呼吸障碍患者的中咽和下咽狭窄或阻塞比正常人更明显，且在睡眠期间尤为明显。因此，张口呼吸时的形态学（即解剖学）变化可能为评估打鼾和睡眠呼吸暂停的病理状况提供有用信息。
