Obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome(OSAHS) is a clinical and critical disease to health, which the accuratly pathogenesis is not very explicit. The mainstream research suggested that dysfunction of upper airway dilator muscles is one of the hazard factors. Genioglossus innervated by the hypoglossal nerve plays crucial roles. It could expand volume of pharyngeal cavity, and increase airflow rate when stimulate it.With the development of anatomy and physiology, hypoglossal nerve stimulation(HGNS) entered into clinical trials, and had made tremendous progress since 2001. Most of clinical trials show that, it could dramatically improve the smooth general peculiarity of the upper respiratory tract in patients with OSAHS in the sleeping state.
阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停低通气综合征(OSAHS)是一种临床常见且对健康危害十分严重的疾病。OSAHS的发病机制仍不清楚，目前研究认为上气道扩张肌肌张力异常是其发病基础。在相关的肌群中，最重要的是受舌下神经支配的颏舌肌，刺激舌下神经可明显扩大咽腔，增加气流量。随着解剖学以及生理学的不断进展，舌下神经刺激(hypoglossal nerve stimulation，HGNS)从2001年开始逐渐进入临床试验，并取得了较大的进展。经过临床试验证明，HGNS可在熟睡状态下显著改善OSAHS患者的咽腔以及上呼吸道的通畅性。.
Keywords: Electric stimulation therapy; Hypoglossal nerve; Sleep apnea, obstructive.