Meaning & use
upper airway syndrome
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablemedicalspecialist
A condition in which the nose, mouth, or throat partly blocks the flow of air, causing noisy or difficult breathing.
Grammar: Used as a medical condition name; it takes no plural and usually appears with 'the' or with no article.
Patterns
- diagnose upper airway syndrome
- suffer from upper airway syndrome
- treatment for upper airway syndrome
The vet said the dog's snoring and coughing were signs of upper airway syndrome.
In humans, upper airway syndrome is often linked to sleep apnea and obesity.
Surgery may be recommended when upper airway syndrome makes breathing hard during exercise.
Common combinations
- diagnose upper airway syndrome
- Doctors can diagnose upper airway syndrome with a sleep study or an endoscopy.
- suffer from upper airway syndrome
- Flat-faced dogs often suffer from upper airway syndrome.
- signs of upper airway syndrome
- Loud breathing at rest is one of the first signs of upper airway syndrome.
- treatment for upper airway syndrome
- Weight loss is sometimes the simplest treatment for upper airway syndrome.
Synonyms and how they differ
- upper airway obstruction
- This is the more common medical phrase for a blockage; 'upper airway syndrome' is broader and can describe a set of related symptoms.
- sleep apnea
- Sleep apnea is a specific sleep disorder with pauses in breathing, while upper airway syndrome can occur while awake too.
Word family
- airway noun
- The passage through which air moves when you breathe.
- syndrome noun
- A group of symptoms that regularly occur together.
Commonly confused: upper airway syndrome or upper respiratory infection?
upper airway syndrome vs upper respiratory infection
An infection is caused by germs and is usually temporary; upper airway syndrome describes a structural or functional breathing problem.
Practice
The veterinarian explained that the bulldog's noisy breathing was caused by ______.
Choose one answer.
The condition name is uncountable and used without an article, so 'upper airway syndrome' is correct. 'An upper airway syndrome' wrongly treats it as a countable noun, and 'upper airways syndrome' changes the fixed singular form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “upper airway syndrome”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.