Question

The nurse is auscultating the lungs of a client and detects normal vesicular breath sounds. What is a characteristic of vesicular breath sounds?

a) They are soft, high-pitched discontinuous (intermittent) popping lung sounds.
b) They are loud, high-pitched sounds heard primarily over the trachea and larynx.
c) They are low-pitched, soft sounds heard over peripheral lung fields.

Answer 1

Vesicular breath sounds are low-pitched, soft sounds heard over the peripheral lung fields, indicating normal and healthy lung function.

Step-by-step explanation:

Vesicular breath sounds are characteristic of normal lung function and are typically heard when a clinician auscultates a patient's lungs using a stethoscope. The correct characteristic of vesicular breath sounds is c) They are low-pitched, soft sounds heard over peripheral lung fields. These sounds are produced by air moving through the smaller bronchioles and alveoli during quiet breathing. Unlike abnormal lung sounds, such as crackles, which may indicate conditions like pneumonia, vesicular sounds indicate healthy lung tissue and efficient pulmonary ventilation.