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Whispered pectoriloquy

FieldValue
specialty
differentialpneumonia, cancer (solid mass)

Whispered pectoriloquy refers to an increased loudness of whispering noted during auscultation with a stethoscope on the lung fields on a patient's torso.

Usually spoken sounds of a whispered volume by the patient would not be heard by the clinician auscultating a lung field with a stethoscope. However, in areas of the lung where there is lung consolidation, these whispered spoken sounds by the patient (such as saying 'ninety-nine') will be clearly heard through the stethoscope. This increase in sound exists because sound travels faster and thus with lower loss of intensity through liquid or solid ("fluid mass" or "solid mass," respectively, in the lung) versus gaseous (air in the lung) media. Whispered pectoriloquy is a clinical test typically performed during a medical physical examination to evaluate for the presence of lung consolidation, causes of which include cancer (solid mass) and pneumonia (fluid mass).

History

The choice of "ninety-nine" is the unfortunate result of a literal translation. The test was originally described by a German physician who used the phrase "neunundneunzig" (), which he found would cause maximum vibration of the chest. The translation, "ninety-nine", has fewer vowels and is less effective in evoking the phenomenon. Better phrases in English include "toy boat", "Scooby Doo", and "blue balloons".

Etymology

'Pectoriloquy' is derived from the Latin words pectus or pectoris meaning chest or breast, and -loquy or loquor which means to speak.

References

References

  1. "PT 630 - Breath Sounds".
  2. Bates, Barbara. "Bates' Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking". Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
  3. McGee, Steven. (2012-03-19). "Evidence-Based Physical Diagnosis E-Book". Elsevier Health Sciences.
  4. Salvatore Mangione. (2000). "Physical diagnosis secrets". Hanley & Belfus.
  5. (2006). "Clinical clerkships : the answer book". Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
  6. (18 May 2023). "Pectoriloquy - Wiktionary".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

symptoms-and-signs:-respiratory-system audible-medical-signs
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