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Medicine vocabulary · History Taking and Examination

Auscultate

Meaning in medicine, with examples

/ˈɔːskəlteɪt/verbCommon term

In medicine, auscultate means: To listen to sounds inside the body, especially the heart, lungs and bowel, with a stethoscope.

In Turkish: oskültasyon yapmak, steteskopla dinlemek

How it is used

Part of the standard sequence: inspect, palpate, percuss, auscultate. The noun auscultation is more common in notes ('on auscultation, crackles at the left base'). With patients, doctors simply say 'I'm going to listen to your chest.'

Example sentences

  1. Auscultate all four valve areas with the diaphragm and then with the bell.

  2. On auscultation there was reduced air entry at the right base.

Common collocations

  • auscultate the chest
  • auscultate the heart
  • on auscultation
  • auscultate for bowel sounds
  • physical examinationThe part of a consultation where the doctor looks at, feels, taps and listens to the patient's body to find signs of disease.
  • palpateTo examine part of the body by feeling it carefully with the hands or fingers, for example to check the size of an organ or to find a lump.
  • murmurAn extra whooshing sound heard over the heart with a stethoscope, caused by turbulent blood flow, often through a narrow or leaking valve.
  • wheezeA high-pitched whistling sound made when air moves through narrowed airways, usually heard when breathing out.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: History Taking and Examination

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.