Ondine’s curse: the origin of the myth

ABSTRACT Central alveolar hypoventilation syndrome has been known for decades as Ondine’s curse. It was named as such after a German myth. Although most of the stories resemble one another, word of mouth has led to misinterpretation of this tale among the medical community. The present paper reviews the original narrative, its characters, and how it is linked to the most relevant aspects of the disease.摘要：中枢性肺泡低通气综合征（Central alveolar hypoventilation syndrome）已被称为翁丁诅咒（Ondine’s curse）数十年之久，该命名源自一则德国神话。尽管多数相关故事版本大同小异，但经口口相传后，医学界对这一典故产生了误读。本文回顾了该神话的原始叙事、人物形象，以及它与该疾病核心特征之间的关联。