Ap'oplexy, the sudden loss of consciousness and voluntary motion caused by pressure upon the brain resulting from congestion or rupture of the blood vessels in that organ. In a complete apoplexy the person falls suddenly, is unable to move his limbs or to speak, and gives no evidence of seeing, hearing or feeling. His breathing is stertorous, much like that of a person in deep sleep. Among the premonitory symptoms of this disease are drowsiness, giddiness, dullness of hearing, frequent yawning, disordered vision, noise in the ears and vertigo. It is most frequent between the ages of fifty and seventy. People with large heads, short necks, full chests and corpulent frames are generally considered to be more liable to apoplexy than persons of thin habit. Among the common predisposing causes are long and intense thought, continued anxiety habitual indulgence of the temper and passions, sedentary and luxurious living, intoxication. More or less complete recovery from a first and second attack is common, but a third is almost invariably fatal.