CONGENITAL LARYNGEAL STRIDOR (INSPIRATORY LARYNGEAL COLLAPSE) A NEW THEORY AS TO ITS UNDERLYING CAUSE AND THE DESIRABILITY OF A CHANGE IN TERMINOLOGY

Abstract

Present day interest in the problem of stridorous breathing in newborn and older infants received its major impetus from Lees's report on a "Larynx from an Infant with a Peculiar Form of Obstructed Respiration." This report was given to the London Pathological Society in 1883.Although it is a well established fact that Lees was not the first to describe the typical condition which one associates with congenital laryngeal stridor, he apparently was the first to show the defective laryngeal mechanism which produces the stridor. The illustration contained in the published report is remarkable for its accuracy and clarity (fig. 1). Lees posed the problem of the underlying causation of the condition—a problem which remains unsolved today, even though the literature abounds with theories and writings relating thereto. It is to Lees's credit that he clearly stated the signs and symptoms of the condition, and it is noteworthy that