Clinical Medicine 3: Thorax and Lungs

Question 1

Adventitious breath sounds:

Answer 1

abnormal auscultated breath sounds such as crackles, rhonchi, wheezes and friction rub.

Question 2

Apnea:

Answer 2

a temporary halt to breathing.

Question 3

Asthma (reactive airway disease):

Answer 3

small airway obstruction caused by inflammation and hyperactive airways.

Question 4

Atelectasis

Answer 4

incomplete expansion of the lung.

Question 5

Barrel chest:

Answer 5

increased anteroposterior diameter of the chest, often with some degree of kyphosis; commonly seen with COPD.

Question 6

Biot respirations:

Answer 6

irregular respirations varying in depth and interrupted by intervals of apnea that lacks repetitive pattern.

Question 7

Bronchiectasis

Answer 7

chronic dilation of the bronchi or bronchioles caused by repeated infections or bronchial obstructions.

Question 8

Bronchitis

Answer 8

inflammation of the large airways.

Question 9

Bronchophony

Answer 9

an exaggeration of vocal resonance emanating from a bronchus surrounded by consolidated lung tissue (greater clarity and increased loudness of the spoken word).

Question 10

Bronchiolitis:

Answer 10

inflammation of the bronchioles

Question 11

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Answer 11

disease process which causes decreased ability of the lungs to perform their function of ventilation (nonspecific diagnosis that includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema).

Question 12

Dyspnea:

Answer 12

difficult and labored breathing, shortness of breath.

Question 13

Egophony:

Answer 13

the auditory quality associated with an increased intensity of the spoken voice along with a nasal quality (e’s become stuffy broad a’s). May be present in any condition that consolidates lung tissue.

Question 14

Hemoptysis

Answer 14

the coughing up of blood or bloodstained sputum from the respiratory tree.

Question 15

Kyphosis:

Answer 15

an increased convex curvature of the thoracic spine.

Question 16

Normal breath sounds:

Vesicular:

Answer 16

heard over most of the lung fields; low pitch, soft and short expirations

Question 17

Normal breath sounds:

Tubular:

Answer 17

heard only over trachea, high pitch; loud and long expirations, sometimes a bit longer than inspiration.

Question 18

Normal breath sounds:

Bronchovesicular:

Answer 18

heard over main bronchus area and over upper right posterior lung field; medium pitch; expiration equals inspiration.

Question 19

Orthopnea:

Answer 19

shortness of breath that begins or increases when the patient lies down.

Question 20

Pectoriloquy

Answer 20

a striking transmission of voice sounds through the pulmonary structures, so that they are clearly audible through the stethoscope; commonly occurs from lung consolidation.

Question 21

Pectus carinatum (Pigeon chest):

Answer 21

forward protrusion of the sternum.

Question 22

Pectus excavatum (Funnel chest):

Answer 22

depression of the sternum.

Question 23

Resonance

Answer 23

quality of the sound heard on percussion of a hollow structure such as the chest or abdomen.

Question 24

Tachypnea

Answer 24

rapid, usually shallow, breathing.

Question 25

Tactile fremitus:

Answer 25

a tremor or vibration in any part of the body detected on palpation.

Question 26

Whispered pectoriloquy

Answer 26

the transmission of a whisper in the same way as that of more readily audible speech, commonly, detected when the lung is consolidated by pneumonia (increase in the volume of voice sounds).