Adventitious breath sounds
Fine crackles : brief, at the end of inspiration, at the bases. Fluid in the alveoli — heart failure, pneumonia, fibrosis.. Coarse crackles : louder, lower pitched. Secretions in the larger airways.. Wheezes : musical, mainly expiratory. Narrowed airways — asthma, COPD.. Rhonchi : low pitched, snoring, clear or change with coughing. Secretions.. Stridor : high pitched, inspiratory, audible without a stethoscope. Upper airway obstruction — an emergency.. Pleural friction rub : creaking, unchanged by coughing, painful.