A condition in children where they make a crowing sound, often associated with respiratory distress or certain illnesses like croup.
From 'child' + 'crowing,' the present participle of 'crow' (to make a loud, harsh cry). This medical term emerged when physicians needed to describe specific respiratory symptoms in pediatric patients.
The 'crowing' sound in childhood croup is actually the larynx struggling to bring air through a swollen airway—it's a frightening sound that once signaled a potentially fatal condition before vaccines and modern medicine made it rarely life-threatening.
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