(sownd )
[Middle English soun, ult. fr. L. sonus, sound]
1. Auditory sensations produced by vibrations; noise. It is measured in decibels (dB), which is the logarithm of the intensity of sound; thus 20 dB represents not twice 10 dB but 10 times as much. Repeated exposure to excessively loud noises, esp. in certain frequencies, will cause permanent injury to the hearing.
SEE: decibel; SEE: noise
2. A form of vibrational energy that gives rise to auditory sensations.
SEE: cochlea; SEE: ear; SEE: organ of Corti
3. Heart sounds.
SEE: diastole; SEE: systole
The lack of perceptible sounds of airflow during auscultation of the patient's chest.
ETIOLOGY
Absent breath sounds can be caused by a lack of breathing (apnea) or by lung disorders that block the transmission of the sounds to the surface of the chest, e.g., pneumothorax, pleural effusion.
Abnormal lung sounds heard when listening to the chest as the person breathes. These may be wheezes, crackles (rales), or stridor. They do not include sounds produced by muscular activity in the chest wall or friction of the stethoscope on the chest.
Crackles and wheezes superimposed on the normal breath sounds; indicative of respiratory disease. Most adventitious lung sounds can be divided into continuous (wheezing) and discontinuous (crackles) according to acoustical characteristics.
An obsolete term for a moist sound heard on auscultation when the skin is edematous.
Sound containing frequency components between 15 and 15,000 Hz (cycles per second).
An organic murmur as of air from an aperture expelled with moderate force.
A noise such as fluid in a bottle.
SEE: amphoric
Any of the normal sounds associated with movement of the intestinal contents through the alimentary tract. Auscultation of the abdomen for bowel sounds may provide valuable diagnostic information. Absent or diminished sounds are possible indications of paralytic ileus or peritonitis. High-pitched tinkling sounds are associated with intestinal obstruction.
Any of the respiratory sounds heard on auscultation of the chest. In a normal chest, they are classified as vesicular, tracheal, and bronchovesicular.
Any of the sounds not heard in the normal lung but occurring in pulmonary disease, indicating infiltration and solidification of the lung.
SEE: bronchial breathing
A mixture of bronchial and vesicular sounds.
A vesicular lung sound that is lower pitched and louder than normal.
ETIOLOGY
Pneumonia, atelectasis, pulmonary edema, and other conditions may cause this type of breath sound.
A tympanic resonance heard over air cavities. This percussion sound resembles that made by striking a cracked pot.
A soft, decreased, or distant vesicular lung sound as heard through a stethoscope.
ETIOLOGY
Diminished breath sounds are common in patients with poor respiratory effort, splinting, emphysema, and other lung conditions.
Any noise made during cardiac systole by the valves of the heart or the root of the aorta.
The sound made by the fetal heart.
A leathery or rasping sound produced when two inflamed surfaces rub against each other.
The two sounds “lubb” and “dupp” heard when listening to the heart with a stethoscope. They arise from valve closure and muscular structures in the heart and are technically called S1 and S2. Third and fourth heart sounds may be present in some heart diseases.
A sound perceived when the auditory canals are closed. The sound is produced by the blood flowing through adjacent vessels.
Any sound heard over the lungs, bronchi, or trachea.
An abnormal auscultatory finding during a cardiac examination, in which a heart sound that usually has a single component is heard as two distinct noises. It is suggestive of a deep inspiration (which draws more blood than normal into the chest) or a bundle branch block.
A splashing sound heard over a cavity with fluid in it.
Rasping friction sounds of pericarditis.
A sound normally heard over the trachea or larynx.
A sound heard over the trachea or large bronchi.
A normal breath sound heard over the entire lung during breathing.
A sound made up of all audible frequencies.