Table of contents Contributors ix List of abbreviations xiv Preface xv 1 – Neurobiology and physiology of sleep and breathing 1 Ivana Rosenzweig, Silvia V. Conde and Emilia C. Monteiro 2 – Classification, definition and epidemiology of sleep disordered breathing 2.1 Definitions of sleep disordered breathing 15 Johan Verbraecken 2.2 More specific grading of sleep disordered breathing 23 Steven Vits, Frederik Massie and Johan Verbraecken 2.3 Evaluation of obstructive sleep apnoea severity 32 Dirk Pevernagie, Sophia E. Schiza and Winfried Randerath 2.4 Epidemiology of obstructive sleep apnoea, central sleep 38 apnoea and hypoventilation syndromes Johan Verbraecken 3 – Pathophysiology of sleep disordered breathing 3.1 The pathophysiological concept of upper airway 44 obstruction, the arousal threshold, muscle responsiveness and respiratory drive Ludovico Messineo, Luigi Taranto-Montemurro and Elisa Perger 3.2 Pathophysiology of central sleep apnoea 55 Winfried Randerath 3.3 Pathophysiology of hypoventilation 65 Annabel H. Nickol