auscultation

auscultation
/aw'skeuhl tay"sheuhn/, n.
Med. the act of listening, either directly or through a stethoscope or other instrument, to sounds within the body as a method of diagnosis.
[1625-35; < L auscultation- (s. of auscultatio) a listening, attending to, equiv. to auscultat(us) listened to (ptp. of auscultare; aus- (var. s. of auris ear) + -culta- of uncert. sense and orig. + -tus ptp. suffix) + -ion- -ION]

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Procedure for detecting certain defects or conditions by listening for normal and abnormal heart, breath, bowel, fetal, and other sounds in the body.

The invention of the stethoscope in 1819 improved and expanded this practice, still very useful despite the great technological advances in other means of diagnosis.

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      diagnostic procedure in which the physician listens to sounds within the body to detect certain defects or conditions, such as heart-valve malfunctions or pregnancy. Auscultation originally was performed by placing the ear directly on the chest or abdomen, but it has been practiced mainly with a stethoscope since the invention of that instrument in 1819.

      The technique is based on characteristic sounds produced, in the head and elsewhere, by abnormal blood circuits; in the joints by roughened surfaces; in the lower arm by the pulse wave; and in the abdomen by an active fetus or by intestinal disturbances. It is most commonly employed, however, in diagnosing diseases of the heart and lungs.

      The heart sounds consist mainly of two separate noises occurring when the two sets of heart valves close. Either partial obstruction of these valves or leakage of blood through them because of imperfect closure results in turbulence in the blood current, causing audible, prolonged noises called murmurs. In certain congenital abnormalities of the heart and the blood vessels in the chest, the murmur may be continuous. Murmurs are often specifically diagnostic for diseases of the individual heart valves; that is, they sometimes reveal which heart valve is causing the ailment. Likewise, modification of the quality of the heart sounds may reveal disease or weakness of the heart muscle. Auscultation is also useful in determining the types of irregular rhythm of the heart and in discovering the sound peculiar to inflammation of the pericardium, the sac surrounding the heart.

      Auscultation also reveals the modification of sounds produced in the air tubes and sacs of the lungs during breathing when these structures are diseased.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • auscultation — [ ɔskyltasjɔ̃ ] n. f. • 1819; « action d écouter, examen » 1570; lat. auscultatio → ausculter ♦ Action d écouter les bruits qui se produisent à l intérieur de l organisme pour faire un diagnostic. ⇒ exploration, percussion. Auscultation immédiate …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Auscultation — pédiatrique d un nourrisson. L auscultation est la partie de l examen clinique qui consiste à écouter, à l aide d un stéthoscope (auscultation médiate), ou simplement à l oreille, divers bruits produits par les organes du corps humain, notamment… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Auscultation — Aus cul*ta tion, n. [L. ausculcatio, fr. auscultare to listen, fr. a dim. of auris, orig. ausis, ear. See {Auricle}, and cf. {Scout}, n.] 1. The act of listening or hearkening to. Hickes. [1913 Webster] 2. (Med.) An examination by listening… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Auscultation — (v. lat.), 1) das Hören; 2) (Med.), die Methode, Krankheiten mittelst des Gehörs zu erforschen u. zwar durch bloßes Anlegen des Ohrs an den leidenden Theil (unmittelbare A.); od. durch, zwischen beide gebrachte, den Ton leitende u. erhöhende… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Auscultation — Auscultation, Hören, in der Medicin ein Verfahren, Krankheiten der Brust und des Unterleibs vermittelst des Gehörs zu erforschen; bei Brustkrankheiten besonders angewandt vermittelst des von Lännek erfundenen Stethoscops …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • auscultation — act of listening, 1630s, from L. auscultationem (nom. auscultatio), from auscultatus (see AUSCULTATE (Cf. auscultate)). Medical sense is from 1821 …   Etymology dictionary

  • auscultation — [ôs΄kəl tā′shən] n. [L auscultatio, a listening < auscultare, to listen < aus , base of auris, EAR1 + cultare, by metathesis < * clutare < IE base * kel , to incline] 1. a listening 2. a listening, often with the aid of a stethoscope …   English World dictionary

  • Auscultation — For the ancient monasterial worker, see Auscultare Auscultation Intervention Laennec auscultates a patient before his students MeSH …   Wikipedia

  • AUSCULTATION — n. f. T. de Médecine Action d’ausculter. C’est par l’auscultation que, depuis Laënnec, les médecins reconnaissent certaines lésions internes. L’auscultation a révélé les progrès du mal. Se rendre compte à l’auscultation …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 8eme edition (1935)

  • auscultation — noun Etymology: Latin auscultation , auscultatio act of listening, from auscultare to listen; akin to Latin auris ear more at ear Date: 1821 the act of listening to sounds arising within organs (as the lungs) as an aid to diagnosis and treatment …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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