stertor

{{merge to|Snoring|discuss=Talk:Stertor#Merge_to_Snoring,_Respiratory_sounds,_or_stridor_?|date=March 2025}}

{{short description|Noisy breathing sound due to obstruction of the pharynx}}

{{Distinguish|stridor}}

{{Infobox medical condition

| name = Stertor

| synonym =

| image = Blausen 0872 UpperRespiratorySystem.png

| image_size =

| image_thumbtime =

| alt =

| caption = Stertor caused by partial obstruction of the upper airways, at the level of the nasopharynx or oropharynx.

| pronounce =

| specialty = Otorhinolaryngology

| symptoms =

| complications =

| onset =

| duration =

| types =

| causes =

| risks =

| diagnosis =

| differential =

| prevention =

| treatment =

| medication =

| prognosis =

| frequency =

| deaths =

}}

Stertor ({{ety|la|stertere|to snore}}) is a term first used in 1804 {{cite web |title=Definition of STERTOR |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stertor |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=10 January 2021 |language=en}} to describe a noisy breathing sound, such as snoring.O Cathain E, Gaffey MM. [https://europepmc.org/article/med/33232069 Upper Airway Obstruction]. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing, Treasure Island (FL); 2020.{{cite book |last1=Englar |first1=Ryane E. |chapter=Stertor and Stridor |title=Common Clinical Presentations in Dogs and Cats |date=3 July 2019 |pages=449–461 |doi=10.1002/9781119414612.ch34 |chapter-url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119414612.ch34 |access-date=9 January 2021 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |isbn=9781119414582 |s2cid=240751218 |language=en}} It is caused by partial obstruction of the upper airways, at the level of the nasopharynx or oropharynx.{{Cite book |title=Macleod's Clinical Examination |date=2018 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-7020-6993-2 |editor-last=Innes |editor-first=J. Alastair |edition=14th |location=Edinburgh London New York |pages=186 |editor-last2=Dover |editor-first2=Anna R. |editor-last3=Fairhurst |editor-first3=Karen |editor-last4=Macleod |editor-first4=John}}

It is distinguished from stridor by its pitch. Stertor is low-pitched, and can occur when breathing in, out or both.{{Cite book|last1=Ida|first1=Jonathan|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6jkHBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA798-799|title=Common ENT Disorders in Children, An Issue of Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America, E-Book|last2=Thomson|first2=Dana Mara|date=2014|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-323-32622-3|editor-last=Bower|editor-first=Charles M.|location=|pages=798|language=en|chapter=Paediatric stridor}} Stertor and stridor can occur together, such as when adenotonsillar hypertrophy and laryngomalacia occur together.