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Where do you Auscultate lung sounds?

Where do you Auscultate lung sounds?

Considerations. The lung sounds are best heard with a stethoscope. This is called auscultation. Normal lung sounds occur in all parts of the chest area, including above the collarbones and at the bottom of the rib cage.

What side of the stethoscope do you use for lung sounds?

The diaphragm (larger) side is ideal for detecting breathing, as well as normal heart rhythms. The bell (smaller) side is better for detecting abnormal heart sounds and bruits, as well as bowel sounds.

Can you use both sides of a stethoscope?

When using a double-sided Littmann stethoscope, you need to open (or index) the side you want to use—bell or diaphragm—by rotating the chestpiece. If the diaphragm is open, the bell will be closed, preventing sound from coming in through the bell, and vice versa.

What does a normal lung sound like?

Normal findings on auscultation include: Loud, high-pitched bronchial breath sounds over the trachea. Medium pitched bronchovesicular sounds over the mainstream bronchi, between the scapulae, and below the clavicles. Soft, breezy, low-pitched vesicular breath sounds over most of the peripheral lung fields.

Is diminished lung sounds bad?

You can have clear lungs ounds with COPD too. After using a bronchodilator, diminished lung sounds may become clear. Or, sometimes, as airways open up, wheezing may occur. This we consider good, as it means air is moving better, and so wheezing can now be heard.

What are the 2 sides of the stethoscope for?

II THE STETHOSCOPE The stethoscope has two different heads to receive sound, the bell and the diaphragm. The bell is used to detect low-frequency sounds; the diaphragm, high-frequency sounds.

Can a stethoscope hear through clothes?

Effective auscultation of heart sounds and murmurs is possible over clothing, given firm pressure on the stethoscope, according to a University of Florida research team.

What do unhealthy lungs sound like?

Rhonchi. These low-pitched wheezing sounds sound like snoring and usually happen when you breathe out. They can be a sign that your bronchial tubes (the tubes that connect your trachea to your lungs) are thickening because of mucus. Rhonchi sounds can be a sign of bronchitis or COPD.