Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2008 Jul:36 Suppl 1:23-7.
doi: 10.1177/0310057X0803601s05.

The origins of the sniffing position and the Three Axes Alignment Theory for direct laryngoscopy

K B Greenland  1 , V Eley, M J Edwards, P Allen, M G Irwin
Affiliations
Review

The origins of the sniffing position and the Three Axes Alignment Theory for direct laryngoscopy

K B Greenland et al. Anaesth Intensive Care. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

The Three Axes Alignment Theory and the sniffing position for direct laryngoscopy are the anatomical basis for direct laryngoscopy. This position has been one of the hallmarks of airway management and yet its development is based on a small number of descriptive texts published between 1852 and 1944. This paper explores the origins of direct laryngoscopy and how the sniffing position came to be described. The seemingly incongruent techniques of the rigid bronchoscopist and direct laryngoscopist are discussed from an historical perspective.

PubMed Disclaimer