Cheyne-Stokes respiration

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Cheyne-Stokes respiration (chayn-stohks) n. a striking form of breathing in which there is a cyclical variation in the rate, which becomes slower until breathing stops for several seconds before speeding up to a peak and then slowing again. It occurs particularly in states of coma. [ J. Cheyne (1777–1836), Scottish physician; W. Stokes (1804–78), Irish physician]