Respiratory Sounds Reference Page

Introduction

This page provides an overview of respiratory sounds information on this website. We offer several ways to learn respiratory auscultation skills. First, the reference guide is designed to provide quick access to abnormal respiratory sounds, with audio tracks, listening guides and waveforms. Our respiratory sounds lesson are intended for students. The Repetition Training pages provide a methodology that helps some users memorize each type of lung sound.

Respiratory Sounds Definition

Respiratory sounds, also called lung sounds or breath sounds, can be auscultated across the chest with a stethoscope. Wheezes, rhonchi, crackles (rales), stridor and pleural rubs, egophony, bronchophony and whispered pectoriloquy are all available within this site.

Respiratory Sounds Reference Guide

Our auscultation reference guide provides quick access to normal and adventitious sounds including audio recordings, listening tips and a waveforms.

Pulmonary Problem Solving

Cases in pulmonary problem solving that integrate clinical skills training with respiratory care. This course is presented by the Practical Clinical Skills website.

Quick Links to Common Questions

While we have respiratory sound courses and reference guides, some users prefer to use these quick links to concise information and audio recordings for both normal and adventitious sounds.

Stridor
Vesicular Breath Sounds
Bronchial Breath Sounds
Adventitious Breath Sounds
Adventitious Lung Sounds
Wheezing
Rhonchi
Fine and Coarse Crackles
Rales
Egophony
Auscultate
Auscultation Lung Sounds Audio

Repetition Training

As a supplement to our courses and reference guides, we provide auscultation repetition training. This training is available using courses or quick lessons.

Respiratory Sounds Lessons

Learn respiratory sounds by taking our free courses These courses cover basic and intermediate levels of adventitious lung sounds and voiced sounds. Use the table of contents below to review and access a course or lesson.

Basics of Lung Sounds
The goal of this basic course in lung sounds is to improve auscultation observational skills. We focus on describing important breath sounds and in providing recordings of each. Many students find that waveform tracings aid in learning lung sounds; we have included dynamic (moving cursor) waveforms with each lesson. The anatomy pages use illustrations to reveal an example of each lung sound (anatomy not yet available on smartphones).

Lesson List

1	Vesicular - Normal
2	Crackles - Fine (Rales)
3	Crackles - Coarse (Rales)
4	Wheeze
5	Rhonchi - Low Pitched Wheezes
6	Bronchial
7	Pleural Rubs
8	Bronchovesicular

Intermediate Lung Sounds
The goal of this intermediate course is to expand your observational skills when auscultating breath sounds. The course lessons include voiced sounds: bronchophony, egophony and whispered pectoriloquy. We also provide auscultation lessons on several types of wheezes, crackles and stridor. Each of these lung sound lessons includes audio, text and dynamic waveform. The anatomy pages use illustrations to reveal an example of each lung sound (anatomy not yet available on smartphones).

Lesson List

1	Vesicular - Diminished
2	Bronchophony - Healthy
3	Bronchophony - Abnormal
4	Egophony - e
5	Egophony - a
6	Whispered Pectoriloquy - Healthy
7	Whispered Pectoriloquy - Abnormal
8	Wheeze - Expiratory
9	Wheeze - Monophonic
10	Wheeze - Polyphonic
11	Crackles - Early Inspiratory (Rales)
12	Crackles - Late Inspiratory (Rales)
13	Stridor