Apnœa

In medical Jurisprudence. Want of breath; difficulty in breathing; partial or temporary suspension of respiration; specifically, such difficulty of respiration resulting from over-oxygenation of the blood, and in this distinguished from "asphyxia," which is a condition resulting from a deficiency of oxygen in the blood due to suffocation or any serious interference with normal respiration. The two terms were formerly (but improperly) used synonymously.