Diaphragmatic Flutter as a Manifestation of Hysteria

Two cases of diaphragmatic flutter are reported. The first case has been cited frequently in the lay and medical press since 1936; the second is a 31-year-old colored male veteran. Records obtained in the second case show a diaphragmatic flutter at rates from 150 to 240 per minute, which disappeared briefly during normal inspiration and throughout forced inspiration only to return during expiration. The condition was intensified during forced expiration. Evidence is offered in support of the view that in both cases the condition is of hysterical origin, and, in the second case, probably directly associated with the patient's sexual impotence

Diaphragmatic breathing · Expiration · Flutter · Hysteria · Mechanics · Psychiatry · Respiratory system · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments