Sleep Medicine Before and After Dickens

ABSTRACT

Sleep disordered breathing has come to public awareness in the last 10 to 15 years. However, the roots of medical knowledge about sleep disordered breathing reach back several hundred years farther. Greek and Roman publications reported heavy snoring and breathing pauses as diseases that impaired social life. In our day, popular comic strip figures like ``Obelix'' remind us that the mysterious noise of heavy snoring has been nerve-racking to people since ancient times.

KEYWORD

Sleep disordered breathing - sleep apnea syndrome - snoring - history

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