A wheeze is a continuous, coarse, whistling sound produced in the respiratory airways during breathing. For wheezes to occur, some part of the respiratory tree must be narrowed or obstructed, or airflow velocity within the respiratory tree must be heightened. Wheezing is commonly experienced by persons with a lung disease; the most common cause of recurrent wheezing is asthma, a form of reactive airway disease. The term symptom (from the Greek syn = con/plus and pipto = fall, together meaning co-exist) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: A symptom may loosely be said to be a physical condition which shows that one has a particular illness or disorder (see... In medicine, a sign is a feature of disease as detected by the doctor during physical examination of a patient. ... The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICD-O) is a domain specific extension of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems for tumor diseases. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The Mendelian Inheritance in Man project is a database that catalogues all the known diseases with a genetic component, and - when possible - links them to the relevant genes in the human genome. ... MedlinePlus (medlineplus. ... eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996. ... The Diseases Database is a free website that provides information about the relationships between medical conditions, symptoms, and medications. ... For the aerial route, see Airway (aviation). ... The lungs flank the heart and great vessels in the chest cavity. ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ...

The differential diagnosis of wheezing is wide, and the cause of wheezing in a given patient is determined by considering the characteristics of the wheezes and the historical and clinical findings made by the examining physician. Differential diagnosis is the process by which a physician utilitizes the scientific method and the skills acquired in medical school, internship, and residency to take a history, examine the patient, and do the appropriate testing to determine the nature and extent of a disease process in a patient. ...

The causes of wheezing

Inflammed airways and bronchoconstriction in asthma. Airways narrowed as a result of the inflammatory response cause wheezing.

Common causes of wheezing are: Image File history File links During an asthma episode, inflamed airways react to environmental triggers such as smoke, dust, or pollen. ... Image File history File links During an asthma episode, inflamed airways react to environmental triggers such as smoke, dust, or pollen. ...

• Asthma
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Medication-induced bronchoconstriction
• Pulmonary edema
• Tracheobronchitis, and
• Vocal cord dysfunction

Less common causes of wheezing include: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an umbrella term for a group of respiratory tract diseases that are characterised by airflow obstruction or limitation. ... Pulmonary edema is swelling and/or fluid accumulation in the lungs. ... The vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the human larynx. ...

• Amyloid deposition
• Carcinoid syndrome
• Chondromalacia
• Descending aortic aneurysms
• Postlobectomy bronchial torsion
• Postradiation stenosis
• Tracheo-broncheal tumors
• Tracheal stenosis
• Tracheomalacia
• Aspiration (foreign particles or foods)

Amyloid describes various types of protein aggregations that share specific traits when examined microscopically. ... Carcinoid is a potentially malignant tumour that occurs in the mucosa of the lungs and digestive tract and potentially in other organs. ... What Is Chondromalacia? Softening of the articular cartilage of the kneecap. ... An aortic aneurysm is a general term for any swelling (dilatation or aneurysm) of the aorta, usually representing an underlying weakness in the wall of the aorta at that location. ... A pneumonectomy (or pneumectomy) is an surgical procedure to remove a lung. ... A stenosis is an abnormal narrowing in a blood vessel or other tubular organ or structure. ... The trachea (IPA /treikiÉ™/), or windpipe, is a tube extending from the larynx to the bronchi in mammals, and from the pharynx to the syrinx in birds, carrying air to the lungs. ...

Characteristics

Wheezes occupy different portions of the respiratory cycle depending on the site of airway obstruction and its nature. The proportion of the respiratory cycle occupied by the wheeze roughly corresponds to the degree of airway obstruction.^1,2 Bronchiolar disease usually causes wheezing that occurs in the expiratory phase of respiration. The presence of expiratory phase wheezing signifies that the patient's peak expiratory flow rate is less than 50% of normal.³ Wheezing heard in the inspiratory phase on the other hand is often a sign of a stiff stenosis, usually caused by tumors, foreign bodies or scarring. This is especially true if the wheeze is monotonal, occurs throughout the inspiratory phase (ie. is "holoinspiratory"), and is heard more distally, in the trachea. Inspiratory wheezing also occurs in hypersensitivity pneumonitis.⁴ Wheezes heard at the end of both expiratory and inspiratory phases usually signify the periodic opening of deflated alveoli, as occurs in some diseases that lead to collapse of parts of the lungs. Respiration is the process of exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide between an organism and its external environment (breathing). ... The bronchioles are the first airway branches that no longer contain cartilage. ... Spirometry (meaning the measuring of breath) is the most common of the Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs), measuring lung function, specifically the measurement of the amount (volume) and/or speed (flow) of air that can be inhaled and exhaled. ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ... The word tone is used in several different fields with different meanings. ... The anatomical planes The anatomical position is a schematic convention for describing the relative morphology of the human body. ... The trachea (IPA /treikiÉ™/), or windpipe, is a tube extending from the larynx to the bronchi in mammals, and from the pharynx to the syrinx in birds, carrying air to the lungs. ... Detailed drawing of the alveoli from Grays Anatomy, 1918 - Schematic longitudinal section of a primary lobule of the lung (anatomical unit); r. ... The lungs flank the heart and great vessels in the chest cavity. ...

The location of the wheeze can also be an important clue to the diagnosis. Diffuse processes that affect most parts of the lungs are more likely to produce wheezing that may be heard throughout the chest via a stethoscope. Localized processes, such as the occlusion of a portion of the respiratory tree, are more likely to produce wheezing at that location, whence the sound will be loudest and radiate outwardly. The pitch of a wheeze does not reliably predict the degree of narrowing in the affected airway.⁵ Chest of a human male The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals. ...

A special type of wheeze is stridor. Stridor— the word is from the Latin, strīdor⁶ —is a harsh, high-pitched, vibrating sound that is heard in respiratory tract obstruction. Stridor heard solely in the expiratory phase of respiration usually indicates a lower respiratory tract obstruction, "as with aspiration of a foreign body (such as the fabled pediatric peanut)."⁷ Stridor in the inspiratory phase is usually heard with obstruction in the upper airways, such as the trachea, epiglottis, or larynx; because a block here mean that no air may reach either lung, this condition is a medical emergency. Stridor is a high pitched sound heard on inspiration that is indicative of airway obstruction. ...

See also

• Rales

The symptoms of rales are wheezy and raspy sounds originating from a compromise in the respiratory tract. ...

References