You already know that when the need for air increases and there are no obstacles, then breathing becomes greater; if the need increases further, the breathing becomes rapid, and then, if the need continues to increase, it becomes frequent.
When the need for air begins to weaken, the breathing frequency first decreases, then the speed, then the magnitude; the same thing happens if the obstacle and delay become smaller. And if a weakening of the need for air does not take place and does not affect these three relations, then the rarefaction of breathing manifests itself most strongly, then there is a slowdown and then a decrease; disruption of natural breathing in the sense of reducing it is less than disruption of it in the sense of slowing it down; both are less than rarefaction. Consider this in relation to the increase and decrease of breathing, both during expansion and contraction of the lungs, according to the difference between the two mentioned needs in the sense of increasing and decreasing breathing; if the reason for the disturbance of natural respiration requires a greater increase in breathing during expansion, then the time preceding expansion is shorter, and if the same occurs during compression, then the resting time preceding contraction is shorter. Frequent, rapid breathing occurs from a hot tumor or from narrowing of the passages due to blockage.
Such breathing indicates a weakening of strength or a strong, suffocating tightness due to obstruction, the accumulation and outpouring of pus or the accumulation of any juice.