Advanced Health Assessment Practice Exam

Which adventitious sound is characterized by a high-pitched musical quality?

1. Rhonchi

2. Wheezes

3. Rales

4. Pleural friction rub

The correct answer is: Wheezes

Wheezes are high-pitched musical sounds that occur during respiration, primarily during expiration. They are caused by the narrowing of airways and can be seen in conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and other obstructive lung diseases. The distinctive musical quality of wheezes can vary from soft to loud and is typically heard without the use of a stethoscope at times of increased respiratory effort. In contrast, rhonchi are low-pitched, snoring sounds resulting from the obstruction or secretions in the larger airways, while rales (or crackles) refer to discrete sounds associated with fluid in the small airways, such as in pneumonia or heart failure, and pleural friction rub is a rough sound occurring when the inflamed pleural layers rub against each other. These differences in pitch and quality help health professionals distinguish between various respiratory conditions during assessment.