hello, what is a doctor listening for exactly when he listens to your chest?

Question

can he detect diseases such as lung cancer?

Answer 1

heart beat and also the sound as you breath

Answer 2

A doctor, nurse, or P.A. listens to your chest to hear your lungs and heart. Depending on their skill level they can hear if your lungs are congested and how far down the congestion is. Your breath makes sounds as it passes through the bronchial tubes. If there's a lot of phlegm or other fluids in there the sound changes and can even cause "rattling" noises. They also listen to your heart to see if it sounds strong or if there are any whispers or extra small beats that might indicate arrythmia or an irregular heart valve. The blood makes noises as it goes through the different chambers and when the valves close there shouldn't be any noise of blood flowing at that moment. They use these sounds to determine if extra tests are needed to determine if there is anything really wrong. They can't really detect cancer without an x-ray. If you had a massive tumor in an area of the chest they may note a lack of breath sounds there.

Isn't it amazing?

Answer 3

When he listens to your heart, he listens for the sounds of the heart pumping, i.e., is it strong, regular, etc., and to hear if there are any murmers from the valves not opening/closing properly.

When he listens to your lungs, he is listening to make sure air is moving in each of the lobes, if there is any noises that indicate the openings into the lungs might be congested, for wheezes or othernoises that could indicate lung disease.

He cannot detect cancer specifically, he can only hear if there are any "signs" of disease that require further evaluation.

Answer 4

He's listening to your heart beat wether it beats on the same as normal heart beat. If its not, you're probably having an illness. He could detect lung cancer when he perform medical examination on you such as imaging or blood test.

Answer 5

He/She listens to your lungs to see if you have wheezing, rales, rhonchi or stridor which could be due to anything from asthma to pneumonia or congestive heart failure. He listens to your heart to hear if your valve flaps are closing properly and to hear if your heart has extra sounds they call s1, s2, s3 and s4.(which I have never understood in spite of going to nursing school ) They listen for a gushing noise which is a murmur. They listen for pleural rubbing which can be caused by anything from radiation treatments to the lung to a really bad pneumothorax (hole in the lung). They can hear a lot going on in your chest. If your healthy, dont smoke and arent sick, chances are, they will hear nothing abnormal at all.
Hope that helps. I am not a doctor or a doctors wife, but have been a registered nurse for what seems like forever and listen to chest noises every day.

Answer 6

I'm no expert but when a doctor listens to your chest it's to listen to your heartbeat and for any chest infections. I only say this because I've had this done. I would imagine if your breathing is irregular or wheezy he would be able to detect that something is wrong (my doctor detected a chest infection by listening to my chest). As I said I'm no expert so I'm not sure if they can detect lung cancer by listening to your chest or whether it can only be detected by x-ray but they would be able to sense something was wrong if it were if you see what I mean and maybe refer you to a specialist at hospital?

Answer 7

A healthy individual breathing through their mouth at normal tidal volumes produces a soft inspiratory sound as air rushes into the lungs, with little noise produced on expiration. These are referred to as vessicular breath sounds.

Wheezes are whistling-type noises produced during expiration (and sometimes inspiration) when air is forced through airways narrowed by bronchoconstriction, secretions, and/or associated mucosal edema. As this most commonly occurs in association with diffuse processes that affect all lobes of the lung (e.g. asthma and emphysema) it is frequently audible in all field

Rales (a.k.a. crackles) are scratchy sounds that occur in association with processes that cause fluid to accumulate within the alveolar and interstitial spaces.

Secretions that form/collect in larger airways, as might occur with bronchitis or other mucous creating process, can produce a gurgling-type noise, similar to the sound produced when you suck the last bits of a milk shake through a straw. These noises are referred to as ronchi.

In order to detect Lung Cancer a thorough examination will be performed such a Xray, MRI for example.

Answer 8

your heart and also the passage of air through your lungs. They can pick up on things like asthma etc and if you present the correct symptons then it helps diagnosis. Lung cancer is detetced through a number of ways, listening to your chest is probable during early diagnosis , there would have to be blood tests and X rays and scans etc.

Answer 9

He's listening to your heartbeat, your breath sounds, and other sounds your internal organs make.

There's all sorts of things he can detect by listening to your chest.

I don't think he can diagnose lung cancer by just listening to your chest. He would need other tests to make that kind of dianosis.

Answer 10

While listening to chest sounds the doctor hears systolic and diastolic sounds in mitral,aortic pulmonary and tricuspid areas. The doctor also hears systolic diastolic and functional murmurs. He hears extra heart sounds and split sounds.The doctor also hears the pericardial rub By this he tentatively diagnoses mitral aortic,tricuspid and pulmonary stenosis and regurgitation of valves.. Coming to lungs he hears inspiratory and expiratory sounds of right and left lungs from apex to base. He also hears adventitious sounds like rhonchi, rales, whispering pectoriliqui of lung cavities. He hears succsion splash of hyderopneumo thorax and increased or decreased vocal fremitus.ie sounds through chest when the examinee keeps repeating 99..This dignoses consolidation and cavitation of lungs. Totally absent breath sounds of a collapsed lung lobes,very much diminished sounds of plural and pericardial effusions. are also diagnostic.

Answer 11

Heart sounds or murmurs or gallup and rythm. Breath sounds normal or diminshed, abnormal breath sounds such as rales or crackling of fluid, or absent breath sounds or bronchial rather than vesicular sounds. A lot can be determined, but x-rays and other procedures confirm it.