Comparison of tongue volume/oral cavity volume ratio between obstructive sleep apnea syndrome patients and normal adults using magnetic resonance imaging.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a group of disorders in which breathing stops intermittently and repeatedly for 10 seconds or more during sleep. The causal site of the disorders is thought to be in the upper airway above the glottis. In order to understand the three-dimensional features of the oral and peripharyngeal structures involved in the disorders, we calculated the tongue volume/oral cavity volume ratio (TV/OCV ratio) in the oral cavity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for both OSAS patients and normal controls.