Lung sounds for the clinician.

Recent interest in lung sound physiology has led to a sharp increase in the publication of articles that describe new techniques of examining lung sounds. Although most of the results of these investigations are of interest primarily to other researchers, several have practical value and should be of interest to the clinician because of the objective support that they lend to various aspects of the physical examination. This short review provides an outline of recent work relating to vesicular lung sounds, crackles, and wheezes. The information is presented with emphasis on practical applications.