Cheyne-Stokes breathing

/ ˈtʃeɪnˈstəʊks /

noun

1. pathol alternating shallow and deep breathing, as in comatose patients

Word History and Origins

Origin of Cheyne-Stokes breathing¹

C19: named after John Cheyne (1777–1836), Scottish physician, and William Stokes (1804–78), Irish physician

Example Sentences

A characteristic change in the respiration, known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing occurs prior to death in some cases; it indicates that the respiratory centre in the medulla is becoming exhausted, and is stimulated to action only when the venosity of the blood has increased sufficiently to excite it.

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It was very nearly a sine-wave modulation of the light—and when a Mahon-modified machine goes into sine-wave flicker, it is the same as Cheyne-Stokes breathing in a human.

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Cheyne-Stokes breathing is admirably described as ‘that of a person recollecting himself’.

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Of a sudden there is a sound as of a deep and labored inspiration, suggesting the upward curve of Cheyne-Stokes breathing.

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So this was Cheyne-Stokes breathing, that rare and awful affliction!

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