auscultation

The process of listening to and analysing the audible sounds within the body, usually with the aid of a stethoscope. These include the sounds (vibrations) in blood vessels, heart, lungs, airways, and intestines, made by the flow of blood, air, or gas within the various organs.

Auscultation is the technical term for listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope. Auscultation is normally performed for the purposes of examining the cardiovascular system and respiratory systems (heart and lung sounds), as well as the gastrointestinal system (bowel sounds). However the act of listening to body sounds for diagnostic purposes has its origin further back in history, possibly as early as Ancient Egypt. Heart sounds are rather faint, especially when an acoustic stethoscope is used. Recently, electronic stethoscopes by Thinklabs, Welch Allyn, 3M and others have become available, making heart and lung sounds more clearly audible to the clinician. The electronic stethoscope also allows for recording of sounds and transmission for the purposes of telemedicine, or remote diagnosis. Thinklabs uses a novel electronic diaphragm detection system to directly convert sounds into electronic signals.

Doctors listen to 3 main organs during auscultation: the heart, lungs, and the gastrointestinal system. When auscultating the heart, doctors listen for abnormal sounds including heart murmurs, gallops, and other extra sounds coinciding with heartbeats. When listening to lungs, sounds such as wheezes, and crackles. The gastrointestinal system is auscultated to note the presence of bowel sounds

Learning the accurate and reliable interpretation of auscultation findings has been improved by recent technological advances. There is a web site, the Auscultation Assistant, which "provides heart sounds, heart murmurs, and breath sounds in order to help medical students and others improve their physical diagnosis skills".