Stridor Breath Sounds

Introduction

Welcome to our stridor page. On this page we provide a definition of stridor, including its clinical significance. There is also a link to training lessons available on this site.

Our stridor lesson can be found in this course. Secondly, our reference index is designed to provide quick access to rales sounds, with audio tracks, listening guides and waveforms. Use this link for quick reference to heart and lung sounds.

What Is Stridor?

Stridor is caused by upper airway narrowing or obstruction. It is often heard without a stethoscope. It occurs in 10-20% of extubated patients.

Stridor is a loud, high-pitched crowing breath sound heard during inspiration but may also occur throughout the respiratory cycle most notably as a patient worsens. In children, stridor may become louder in the supine position.

Causes of stridor are pertussis, croup, epiglottis, aspirations.

Listen To Stridor Lung Sounds

Audio Playback

Use the playback button below.

patient torso with stethoscope chestpiece

The patient was seated during auscultation.

Here we have a stridor recording along with an amplitude waveform.

Waveform

Lung Sounds Reference Guide

Our lung sounds auscultation reference guide provides quick access to a description of rales lung sounds as well as many other adventitious sounds. Each sound is described also with an audio recording and waveform.

Lung Sounds Reference Guide

Quick Links to Other Breath Sounds

While we have many breath sound lessons and quick references on this website. Please use the links below.

Vesicular Breath Sounds
Bronchial Breath Sounds
Adventitious Breath Sounds
Adventitious Lung Sounds
Wheezing
Rhonchi
Fine and Coarse Crackles
Rales
Egophony
Auscultation Lung Sounds Audio

Related Lessons

Basics of Lung Sounds
The goal of this basic course in lung sounds is to improve auscultation observational skills. We focus on describing important breath sounds and in providing recordings of each. Many students find that waveform tracings aid in learning lung sounds; we have included dynamic (moving cursor) waveforms with each lesson. The anatomy pages use illustrations to reveal an example of each lung sound (anatomy not yet available on smartphones).

Lesson List

1	Vesicular - Normal
2	Crackles - Fine (Rales)
3	Crackles - Coarse (Rales)
4	Wheeze
5	Rhonchi - Low Pitched Wheezes
6	Bronchial
7	Pleural Rubs
8	Bronchovesicular

Intermediate Lung Sounds
The goal of this intermediate course is to expand your observational skills when auscultating breath sounds. The course lessons include voiced sounds: bronchophony, egophony and whispered pectoriloquy. We also provide auscultation lessons on several types of wheezes, crackles and stridor. Each of these lung sound lessons includes audio, text and dynamic waveform. The anatomy pages use illustrations to reveal an example of each lung sound (anatomy not yet available on smartphones).

Lesson List

1	Vesicular - Diminished
2	Bronchophony - Healthy
3	Bronchophony - Abnormal
4	Egophony - e
5	Egophony - a
6	Whispered Pectoriloquy - Healthy
7	Whispered Pectoriloquy - Abnormal
8	Wheeze - Expiratory
9	Wheeze - Monophonic
10	Wheeze - Polyphonic
11	Crackles - Early Inspiratory (Rales)
12	Crackles - Late Inspiratory (Rales)
13	Stridor

Authors and Reviewers

Heart sounds by Dr. Jonathan Keroes, MD and David Lieberman, Developer, Virtual Cardiac Patient.
Lung sounds by Diane Wrigley, PA
Respiratory cases: William French
David Lieberman, Audio Engineering
Heart sounds mentorship by >W. Proctor Harvey, MD
Special thanks for the medical mentorship of Dr. Raymond Murphy
Reviewed by Dr. Barbara Erickson, PhD, RN, CCRN.
Last Update: 11/10/2021

Sources

Heart and Lung Sounds Reference Library Diane S. Wrigley
Publisher: PESI
Impact Patient Care: Key Physical Assessment Strategies and the Underlying Pathophysiology
Diane S Wrigley & Rosale Lobo
Practical Clinical Skills: Lung Sounds
PESI Faculty - Diane S Wrigley
Case Profiles in Respiratory Care 3rd Ed, 2019
William A.French
Published by Delmar Cengage
Essential Lung Sounds by William A. French
Published by Cengage Learning, 2011
Understanding Lung Sounds Steven Lehrer, MD
Clinical Heart Disease W Proctor Harvey, MD
Clinical Heart Disease
Laennec Publishing; 1st edition (January 1, 2009)
Heart and Lung Sounds Reference Guide
PracticalClinicalSkills.com