Wheezes are best described as:

Wheezes are best described as:

• A. Rattling noise due to mucus
• B. Continuous high-pitched whistling sounds produced during breathing
• C. Harsh upper airway obstruction
• D. Late inspiratory crackles

Answer: (B)

Wheezes reflect airflow through narrowed airways, producing a musical, high-pitched whistle. This sound is continuous and audible during breathing, most often on expiration when airways are constricted or inflamed. This distinguishes wheezes from other adventitious sounds: rhonchi are rattling and related to secretions in larger airways; stridor is a harsh, upper-airway obstruction sound usually inspiratory and can be heard without stethoscope; late inspiratory crackles are fine crackling sounds that come in late inspiration and relate to fluid or stiffness in the lung, not to narrowed airways. So the best description is a continuous high-pitched whistling sound produced during breathing.

Wheezes reflect airflow through narrowed airways, producing a musical, high-pitched whistle. This sound is continuous and audible during breathing, most often on expiration when airways are constricted or inflamed. This distinguishes wheezes from other adventitious sounds: rhonchi are rattling and related to secretions in larger airways; stridor is a harsh, upper-airway obstruction sound usually inspiratory and can be heard without stethoscope; late inspiratory crackles are fine crackling sounds that come in late inspiration and relate to fluid or stiffness in the lung, not to narrowed airways. So the best description is a continuous high-pitched whistling sound produced during breathing.