Korotkoff sounds

sound (sound)

1. a pressure wave propagating through an elastic medium; waves with a frequency of 20–20,000 Hz cause the sensation of hearing.

2. the effect produced on the organ of hearing by vibrations of the air or other medium.

3. a noise, normal or abnormal, heard within the body.

4. an instrument to be introduced into a cavity to detect a foreign body or to dilate a stricture.

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adventitious sounds  abnormal auscultatory sounds heard over the lung, such as rales, rhonchi, or abnormal resonance.

aortic second sound  the audible vibrations related to the closure of the aortic valve; symbol A2.

auscultatory sounds  those heard on auscultation, such as breath sounds, heart sounds, and adventitious sounds.

breath sounds  respiratory s's; sounds heard on auscultation over the respiratory tract; bronchial and ventricular ones are heard normally at certain places, whereas a cavernous one indicates a lung cavity.

continuous sounds  adventitious sounds lasting longer than 0.2 sec, such as wheezes and rhonchi.

discontinuous sounds  adventitious sounds lasting less than 0.2 sec and coming in a series; the most common are rales.

ejection sounds  high-pitched clicking sounds heard just after the first heart sound, at maximal opening of the semilunar valves; seen in patients with valvular abnormalities or dilatations of aortic or pulmonary arteries.

friction sound  see under rub.

heart sounds  sounds heard over the cardiac region, produced by the functioning of the heart. The first, at the beginning of ventricular systole, is dull, firm, and prolonged, and heard as a “lubb” sound; the second, produced mainly by closure of the semilunar valves, is shorter and sharper than the first and is heard as a “dupp” sound; the third is usually audible only in youth; and the fourth is normally inaudible.

hippocratic sounds  succussion s's.

Korotkoff sounds  sounds heard during auscultatory determination of blood pressure.

percussion sound  any sound obtained by percussion.

pulmonic second sound  the audible vibrations related to the closure of the pulmonary valve; symbol P2.

respiratory sounds  breath s's.

succussion sounds  splashing sounds heard on succussion over a distended stomach or in hydropneumothorax.

to-and-fro sound  see under murmur.

urethral sound  a long, slender instrument for exploring and dilating the urethra.

valvular ejection sound  an ejection sound resulting from abnormality of one or both semilunar valves.

vascular ejection sound  an ejection sound resulting from abnormality of the pulmonary artery or aorta without abnormality of either semilunar valve.

voice sounds  auscultatory sounds heard over the lungs or airways when the patient speaks; increased resonance indicates consolidation or effusion.

white sound  that produced by a mixture of all frequencies of mechanical vibration perceptible as sound.

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Ko·rot·koff sounds (k-rtkôf, kô-)

pl.n.

The sounds heard over an artery when blood pressure is determined by the auscultatory method.

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Korotkoff sounds

[kôrot′kôf]

Etymology: Nickolai Korotkoff, Russian physician, 1874-1920

sounds heard during the taking of a blood pressure reading using a sphygmomanometer and stethoscope. The sphygmomanometer is inflated enough to collapse an artery. As air is released from the cuff, pressure on the artery is reduced, and the blood is heard pulsing through the collapsed vessel. See also blood pressure, diastole, sphygmomanometer, systole.

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Korotkoff sounds (kôrot´kôf),

n.pr the noises heard when taking a blood pressure reading, originated by blood passage causing vibrations in the walls of the blood vessel.