Stertor

Not to be confused with stridor.

Stertor, from Latin 'stertere' to snore, and first used in 1804,^[2] is a noisy breathing sound like snoring.^[3][4] It is caused by partial obstruction of the upper airways, at the level of the nasopharynx or oropharynx.^[1]

Stertor
Stertor caused by partial obstruction of the upper airways, at the level of the nasopharynx or oropharynx.^[1]

It is distinguished from stridor by its pitch.^[4] Stertor is low-pitched, and can occur when breathing in, out or both.^[5] Stertor and stridor can occur together, such as when adenotonsillar hypertrophy and laryngomalacia occur together.^[5]

References

1. Innes, J. Alastair; Dover, Anna R.; Fairhurst, Karen; Macleod, John, eds. (2018). Macleod's Clinical Examination (14th ed.). Edinburgh London New York: Elsevier. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-7020-6993-2.
2. "Definition of STERTOR". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
3. O Cathain E, Gaffey MM. Upper Airway Obstruction. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing, Treasure Island (FL); 2020.
4. Englar, Ryane E. (3 July 2019). "Stertor and Stridor". Common Clinical Presentations in Dogs and Cats. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: 449–461. doi:10.1002/9781119414612.ch34. ISBN 9781119414582. S2CID 240751218. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
5. Ida, Jonathan; Thomson, Dana Mara (2014). "Paediatric stridor". In Bower, Charles M. (ed.). Common ENT Disorders in Children, An Issue of Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America, E-Book. Elsevier. p. 798. ISBN 978-0-323-32622-3.