ABSTRACT
Words describing discomfort associated with the act of breathing (dyspnea)
can be found in the hieroglyphics of Mesopotamia (3300 B.C.), in the Harappa civilization in the Indus valley (2500 B.C.), and the Smith and Ebers
papyri of ancient Egypt (1534 B.C.). These words were pragmatic, acquired
meaning from common usage, and were destined to change with progressive
understanding.
