[Respiratory arrest during sleep. Facts and hypothyses].

The writers analyze 29 nyctohemeral recordings in 20 patients with sleep apneas. In addition to the standard polygraphy, use is made of pneumotachography and capnography. The results (central apnea with open or secondarily closed glottis; obstructive apnea with closed glottis or with expiratory valve phenomenon) raise the hypothesis of a central physiopathological mechanism common to the various types of apneas through a more or less dissociated inhibition of the activity of the respiratory, laryngeal, intercostal, and diaphragmatic muscles:--in central apnea: inhibition of the thoracoabdominal activity and maintenance of the tonicity of the laryngeal muscles, keeping the glottis open;--in obstructive apnea: persistence of the thoracic and/or abdominal activity with inhibition of the activity of the laryngeal muscles, leading to a passive obstruction due to the effect of inspiratory depression.