Respiratory sounds

Respiratory sounds are noises generated by airflow through the respiratory tract. Clinicians listen to them over the chest to assess breathing and identify abnormalities.

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Auscultation: A clinical examination technique that uses listening to sounds produced inside the body, often with a stethoscope. Chest auscultation is the method used to hear respiratory sounds.
Normal breath sounds: The expected sounds of breathing heard at specific locations on the chest during auscultation. They establish the baseline against which abnormal respiratory sounds are judged.
Pulmonary auscultation: Listening to the lungs and airways through the chest wall as part of a respiratory examination. It applies sound assessment directly to the lungs.
Pulmonary crackles: A clinical finding of brief popping sounds heard over the lungs during breathing. This commonly used name overlaps with crackles but emphasizes their pulmonary examination context.
Computerized lung sound analysis: The use of digital signal processing and computational methods to measure and classify lung sounds. It seeks objective measures for patterns traditionally identified by listening.
Breath sound transmission: The passage of respiratory sound vibrations from their source through lung tissue and the chest wall to a listener. Transmission determines how clearly airflow sounds reach the chest surface.
Adventitious lung sounds: Additional or abnormal sounds heard during breathing, including crackles, wheezes, and stridor. This is the broad category used for added sounds during chest examination.
Respiratory examination: A clinical assessment of breathing that combines observation, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. Sound findings are interpreted alongside other parts of the examination.
Pleural friction rub: A grating sound produced when inflamed pleural surfaces rub against each other during breathing. It can resemble coarse crackles but arises from pleural movement rather than airflow in airways.
Electronic stethoscope: A stethoscope that electronically amplifies, records, or processes body sounds. It can capture respiratory sounds for playback and quantitative analysis.