[Does extrinsic asthma exist?].

Asthma cannot be triggered exclusively by external causes, even allergy. For it to develop, the subject must have pathological bronchial hyper-reactivity. On the contrary, however, asthma cannot be explained solely by intrinsic causes, metabolic or endocrine. It persists only in those subjects who have bronchial hyper-reactivity. The authors suggest a new definition of asthma, designed to replace the semi-logical definition of Charpin: Asthma is a dyspnoeic bronchospasmodic crisis that is linked with the existence of pathological bronchial hyper-reactivity.