What is the difference among wheezing ronchi stridor and crackle sounds?

Answer 1

Breathsound are divided into Vesicular breath sounds(Normal) and Adventitious breath sounds (abnormal). Adventitious breath sounds are divided in Continuos lung sound(>80 ms) and Discontinuos lung sounds(<20 ms). Continuos lung sounds consist of Wheeze and Rhonchi.

Wheeze is high pitched musical sounds especially produced in the setting of Bronchospasm ,mucosal edema or excessive secretions.

Rhonchi is lowpitched sonorous sound and may have gurgling quality.they originate in larger airways when there is excessive secretions,abnormal airway collapsibility due to repetitive rupture of surfactant film covering alveoli.

Rhonchi frequently clear after cough post tussive clearing. Always ask patient to turn aside and cough if u hear abnormal breath sounds.

Now coming to discontinuos sound those are Crackles or rales

Coarse >10 ms and fine crackles <10 ms. Fine crackles are soft and high piched sounds,crisp in nature,they are formed by explosive opening of small airways, (terminal bronchioles to alveoli) commonly seen in acute pulmonary edema and Interstial lung disease(post tussive rale they donot clear infact become more afer coughing), Coarse crepts are caused by air bubbling through fluid they are loud and low pitched sounds produced in Pneumonia,Obstructive lung disease and chronic pulmonary edema.