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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by repetitive pharyngeal collapse during sleep. Several techniques have been proposed to assess the collapsibility of the upper airway in awake humans, but sleep-wake comparisons have rarely been attempted and there are few studies comparing OSA patients to control subjects. We sought to compare two collapsibility measurement techniques between normal and apneic subjects, and between wakefulness and sleep. ⋯ These data suggest that upper-airway collapsibility measured during wakefulness does provide useful physiologic information about pharyngeal mechanics during sleep and demonstrates clear differences between individuals with and without sleep apnea.