Upper airway anatomy in sleep apnea: MRI reconstruction

Volumetric reconstructions from a series of 3 mm contiguous axial magnetic resonance images of the mandible (arrowhead), tongue (dashed arrow), soft palate (thick arrow), lateral parapharyngeal fat pads (arrows), airway (short arrow), and lateral/posterior pharyngeal walls (double arrow) in a weight-matched normal subject (A) and a patient with sleep apnea (B), both with an elevated body mass index (32.5 kg/m²). Note that the airway is larger in the normal subject than in the apneic subject. The tongue, soft palate, and lateral pharyngeal walls are larger in the patient with sleep apnea.