Adventitious Breath Sounds

BREATH SOUND	DESCRIPTION	RESPIRATORY PHASE	ETIOLOGY/PATHOLOGY
CRACKLES (FINE)	Short, high-pitched crackling and popping sounds	Inspiration	Air moving through fluid or mucus in an air passage. COPD, CHF, pneumonia, pulmonary edema, pulmonary fibrosis
CRACKLES (COARSE)	Moist, low-pitched bubbling sounds	Inspiration	CHF, COPD, Pulmonary edema, pneumonia, bronchitis, atelectasis
RHONCHI	low pitched, rumbling; snore-like noise	Expiration	Air moving through obstructions in large air passages. Pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, bronchiectasis
PLEURAL FRICTION RUB	Dry grating, or creaking sound	Inspiration and expiration	Rubbing together of inflamed pleural linings. Pleurisy, pneumonia, pleural infarct
WHEEZE	high-pitched musical squeaks	Inspiration and expiration	Air moving through constricted passages. Emphysema, asthma, foreign body obstruction