What are continuous adventitious lung sounds?
They are musical extra sounds superimposed on the underlying breath sound. Usually expiratory, they also
may occur in inspiration, or even throughout the respiratory cycle, but never in inspiration only. If high pitched, they are called wheezes (dominant frequency >400 Hz), and if low-pitched, they are called rhonchi
(dominant frequency <200 Hz). Note that they are called continuous not because they cover the entire
length of the respiratory cycle, but simply because they are long. In fact, longer than the discontinuous
adventitious lung sounds (i.e., crackles). Hence, they are perceived by the human ear as “musical.”
They are musical extra sounds superimposed on the underlying breath sound. Usually expiratory, they also
may occur in inspiration, or even throughout the respiratory cycle, but never in inspiration only. If high pitched, they are called wheezes (dominant frequency >400 Hz), and if low-pitched, they are called rhonchi
(dominant frequency <200 Hz). Note that they are called continuous not because they cover the entire
length of the respiratory cycle, but simply because they are long. In fact, longer than the discontinuous
adventitious lung sounds (i.e., crackles). Hence, they are perceived by the human ear as “musical.”