Respiratory system
Inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation of the chest, and the pleuropulmonary syndromes.
18 pages
Sign
- Adventitious sounds: crackles, wheezes, rhonchi, stridor and pleural rubSounds that do not exist in healthy lungs; each type points to a different mechanism: fluid…
- Voice sounds: bronchophony, egophony and whispered pectoriloquyThe examiner listens while the patient speaks or whispers: if the voice comes through clearly…
Syndrome
- Atelectasis syndromePart of the lung collapses and loses air: that side of the chest pulls in and the trachea shifts…
- Bronchial obstruction syndromeThe airways narrow and air is hard to breathe out: long expiration, wheezes and a chest that…
- Cavitation syndromeA cavity inside the lung, sometimes with air and fluid, that drains into a bronchus and produces…
- Consolidation syndromeWhen the air sacs fill with fluid or cells, the lung becomes solid and sounds and vibrates…
- Pleural effusion syndromeFluid between the lung and the chest wall: the base sounds dull and voice and breath sounds are…
- Pneumothorax syndromeAir between the lung and the chest wall: the lung collapses, that side sounds hollow and…
- Pulmonary hyperinflation syndrome (emphysema)The lungs stay full of trapped air: barrel chest, a hollow percussion note and breathing that is…
- Respiratory distress and respiratory failure: the signsThe signs that breathing takes too much effort, and the ones warning that the patient is tiring…
Exam technique
- Chest inspection: shape, expansion, accessory muscles and retractionsLook at the chest and the breathing before touching: shape, symmetry, rate and effort say a lot…
- Chest palpation: expansion and tactile fremitusThe hands check whether both sides of the chest expand equally and whether the voice vibrates…
- Chest percussion: resonance, dullness and hyperresonanceTapping the chest makes a sound that changes when air, fluid or solid tissue lies underneath
- Lung auscultation: normal breath soundsThe stethoscope lets the examiner hear air moving in and out; knowing normal sounds is the basis…
Topic
- Dyspnea: acute or chronic, heart or lung, and grading (mMRC, NYHA)Feeling short of breath: how fast it started, whether the heart or the lungs are behind it, and…
- Respiratory procedures: V/Q scan, bronchoscopy, thoracentesis, biopsyThe tests that look at lung blood flow, look inside the airways, drain fluid from the chest or…
- Respiratory symptoms: cough, sputum, hemoptysis and dyspneaThe key questions about cough, phlegm, coughing up blood and breathlessness, and what each…
- The pleuropulmonary syndromes: the comparison table to knowFive syndromes and what each step of the chest exam finds in them: the most-asked table
A to Z
Educational content on the clinical exam; it is learned and practised under supervision. It does not replace assessment by a health professional and is not for self-diagnosis.
Representative model, for educational purposes only.