Laënnec’s catarrh /lā′əneks″/ [René T.H. Laënnec, French physician, 1781–1826; Gk, kata, down, rhoia, flow] , a form of bronchial asthma characterized by the expectoration of small, viscous, beadlike bodies of sputum. These bodies, called Laënnec’s pearls, are formed in the bronchioles.
