Lung Findings on Physical Exam
Crackles:
 • Short, discontinuous, sounds mostly heard during inspiration
 • Caused by the opening or collapsed distal airways/alveoli as seen in pulmonary edema and pneumonia
Wheezes:
 • Continuous, high-pitched sounds heard mostly during expiration
 • Caused by turbulent airflow through narrowed airways as seen in bronchospasm, edema, swelling, secretions, tumor, and foreign bodies
Rhonchi:
 • Lower pitched, deep sounds
 • Associated with mucus plugging, secretions
Stridor:
 • High-pitched wheezing sound caused by disrupted airflow
 • Usually caused by extra-thoracic airway obstruction (laryngeal or tracheal obstruction); sounds a lot like wheezing, you must take a history to distinguish them
Egophony:
 • "E" -> "A"
 • The presence of consolidation gives spoken words a nasal quality
Whispered Pectoriloquy:
 • Whisper "1-2-3"
 • The presence of a consolidation makes whispered words louder
Bronchophony:
 • "Say 99"
 • The presence of a consolidation makes spoken words louder

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