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Hering-Breuer reflex

noun Her·ing-Breu·er reflex \ ˈher-iŋ-ˈbrȯi-ər- \

medical Definition of Hering-Breuer reflex

:any of several reflexes that control inflation and deflation of the lungs; especially :reflex inhibition of inspiration triggered by pulmonary muscle spindles upon expansion of the lungs and mediated by the vagus nerve

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Biographical Note for hering-breuer reflex

  • Breuer, Josef (1842–1925), Austrian physician and physiologist. A major forerunner of psychoanalysis, Breuer is famous for relieving the patient “Anna O.” of her hysteria by inducing her to recall, while under hypnosis, traumatic experiences of her early life. He reached the critical insight that neurotic symptoms derive from unconscious processes and that the symptoms can disappear when the processes are made conscious. Sigmund Freud was an early colleague of Breuer, and in 1895 the two men wrote a book on hysteria in which Breuer's method of psychotherapy was described. In 1868 with Karl Hering he described the Hering-Breuer reflex.

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