breath 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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breath sounds

pl.n.

Sounds, such as rales or rhonchi, that are heard upon auscultation of the lungs or associated parts of the respiratory system.

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breath

the air taken in and expelled by the expansion and contraction of the thorax.

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bad breath

see breath odor (below).

breath odor

characteristic for a species, reflecting their diet. Abnormal or unpleasant odors may be caused by diseased or necrotic tissue in the respiratory or upper gastrointestinal tracts, including mouth and nasal cavity. Diseased teeth are a common cause in dogs and cats. In addition, certain metabolic diseases may produce distinctive breath odor, e.g. ketoacidosis, uremia.

hydrogen breath test

detects the level of hydrogen in expired air as an indication of intestinal bacterial fermentation of carbohydrates. It is used in the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease and carbohydrate malabsorption.

breath sounds

can be heard with a stethoscope on the chest and trachea. The normal sounds are the normally very faint vesicular murmur and the louder, tubular sounding bronchial tones. They are made by the air passing through the tubes of the bronchi. Adventitious (abnormal) sounds are the rale, rhonchus, grunt, friction rub, laryngeal stertor, wheeze and peristaltic sounds. Bronchovesicular sounds are intermediate between the two in character and site of origin. The vesicular sounds and the bronchial tones may be increased to the point of being an abnormality. Abnormal sounds are caused by narrowing of the tubes, collection of exudate in them or inflammation of the pleural surfaces.

breath stacking

in artificial respiration, incomplete expiration can result in residual air adding to the volume of the next inspiration with eventual over inflation of the lungs.

breath volume

may be assessed by observation of degree of chest movement and volume of expired air as felt by the hand. A respirometer is more accurate but is not available nor satisfactory for clinical use with animals unless the subject is trained to use one.