Thorax & Lung Definitions

Question 1

Adventitious sounds

Answer 1

“added sounds” that are superimposed on usual breath sounds

Question 2

What are examples of adventitious sounds?

Answer 2

crackles/rales, wheezes, rhonchi

Question 3

apnea

Answer 3

without breathing

Question 4

asthma

Answer 4

reversible bronchial hyperresponsiveness involving release of inflammatory mediators, increased airway secretions, and bronchoconstriction

Question 5

auscultation

Answer 5

listenting

Question 6

bradypnea

Answer 6

slow breathing

Question 7

bronchitis

Answer 7

inflammation of the bronchial tubes

Question 8

bronchophony

Answer 8

abnormal transmission of sound from bronchi or lungs

Question 9

consolidation

Answer 9

solidification in the lungs

Question 10

costal margin

Answer 10

angle produced by the cartilages that connect up to the xiphoid process

Question 11

costochondral

Answer 11

between each rib and cartilage

Question 12

cyanosis

Answer 12

turning blue due to lack of oxygen

Question 13

dyspnea

Answer 13

difficulty breathing

Question 14

egophony

Answer 14

Changes in sound as air passes through either a fluid/solid in the lung; sound changes from “e” to “a”

Question 15

emphysema

Answer 15

part of COPD, condition where the small airways are damaged due to loss of elastic recoil

Question 16

Excursion

Answer 16

distance traveled

Question 17

fibrosis

Answer 17

scarring? build up of connective tissue because of damage

Question 18

fremitus

Answer 18

assessing the lungs via vibrations

Question 19

hemoptysis

Answer 19

coughing up blood

Question 20

inspissation

Answer 20

process of thickening by dehydration

Question 21

Kussmaul respiration

Answer 21

breathing pattern associated with DKA; very deep, fast breathing in/out

Question 22

manubrium

Answer 22

top part above the sternal body

Question 23

orthopnea

Answer 23

feeling of being unable to breathe while lying down

Question 24

pectus carinatum

Answer 24

Pigeon-chested; sternum pokes out

Question 25

pectus excavatum

Answer 25

funnel chest; sternum goes in

Question 26

percussion

Answer 26

process of examining the lungs by tapping

Question 27

perfusion

Answer 27

passing to the tissues (blood, fluid, etc.)

Question 28

pleura

Answer 28

serous membrane that lines the thoracic cavity and lungs

Question 29

pneumothorax

Answer 29

air escaping the pleural cavity

Question 30

rales

Answer 30

aka crackles; crinkling sound usually heard on inspiration in cases like pneumonia, COPD (sometimes heard in asthma on expiration?)

Question 31

retraction

Answer 31

when the accessory intercostal muscles contract to aid in breathing; breathing is really bad at this point

Question 32

rhonchi

Answer 32

lower-pitch kind of wheezes (snoring quality) found in large airways that are filled with mucus

Question 33

sternal angle

Answer 33

aka "angle of Louis;" where the manubrium meets the sternal body

Question 34

sternum

Answer 34

anterior attachment for the ribs

Question 35

stridor

Answer 35

difficulty inspiring; wheezing heard louder in the neck than the chest wall; indicates partial obstruction of the airway in the neck, larynx, or trachea

Question 36

suprasternal notch

Answer 36

the little dip in the manubrium between the clavicles

Question 37

tactile fremitis

Answer 37

feeling the vibrations in the chest with the ulnar portions of the hand while the pt speaks; decreased or absent when the voice is higher pitched or soft or when the transmission of vibrations from the larynx to the surface of the chest is impeded by a thick chest wall

Question 38

tympany

Answer 38

sound heard while percussing (tympanic)

Question 39

wheezes

Answer 39

high pitched sounds heard on expiration; occurs when air flows rapidly through bronchi that are narrowed nearly to the point of closure

Question 40

whispered pectorilquy

Answer 40

pt is whispering and you can only hear through auscultation

Question 41

xiphoid process

Answer 41

forms the angle of the costal margin; where the cartilaginous portions of the ribs connect to ribs 8