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Respiratory sounds, also known as lung sounds or breath sounds, are the specific sounds generated by the movement of air through the respiratory system. [1] These may be easily audible or identified through auscultation of the respiratory system through the lung fields with a stethoscope as well as from the spectral characteristics of lung sounds. [2]
Fine crackles are soft, high-pitched, and very brief. This sound can be simulated by rolling a strand of hair between one's fingers near the ears or by moistening one's thumb and index finger and separating them near the ears. Their presence usually indicates an interstitial process, such as pulmonary fibrosis or congestive heart failure.
Rapid breathing helps the patient compensate for the decrease in blood pH by increasing the amount of exhaled carbon dioxide, which helps prevent further acid accumulation in the blood. [11] Cheyne–Stokes respiration is a breathing pattern consisting of alternating periods of rapid and slow breathing, which may result from a brain stem injury ...
Percussion of the lung fields for dullness or hyper-resonance. Auscultation (with a stethoscope) of the lung fields for diminished or unusual breath sounds. Rales or rhonchi heard over lung fields with a stethoscope. As many heart diseases can give pulmonary signs, [20] a thorough cardiac investigation is usually included.
A wheeze is a clinical symptom of a continuous, coarse, whistling sound produced in the respiratory airways during breathing. [1] For wheezes to occur, part of the respiratory tree must be narrowed or obstructed (for example narrowing of the lower respiratory tract in an asthmatic attack), or airflow velocity within the respiratory tree must be heightened.
Upon physical examination, breath sounds (heard with a stethoscope) may be diminished on the affected side, partly because air in the pleural space dampens the transmission of sound. Measures of the conduction of vocal vibrations to the surface of the chest may be altered.
Once accumulated fluid is more than 300 mL, there are usually detectable clinical signs, such as decreased movement of the chest on the affected side, dullness to percussion over the fluid, diminished breath sounds on the affected side, decreased vocal resonance and fremitus (though this is an inconsistent and unreliable sign), and pleural ...
The patient may exhibit dysphonia or have diminished breath sounds, and rapid breathing is common. [3] Coughing may be present, [11] and stridor, an abnormal, high-pitched breath sound indicating obstruction of the upper airway can also occur. [12]