Okuzeka
Medicine vocabulary · History Taking and Examination

Murmur

Meaning in medicine, with examples

/ˈmɜːrmər/nounCommon term

In medicine, murmur means: An extra whooshing sound heard over the heart with a stethoscope, caused by turbulent blood flow, often through a narrow or leaking valve.

In Turkish: üfürüm

How it is used

Doctors describe a murmur by timing (systolic or diastolic), site, loudness (graded 1 to 6) and radiation, for example 'an ejection systolic murmur radiating to the carotids' in aortic stenosis. Some murmurs in children are innocent, meaning harmless.

Example sentences

  1. There's a loud systolic murmur at the apex.

  2. We'll arrange an echocardiogram to look at the murmur we heard.

Common collocations

  • systolic murmur
  • diastolic murmur
  • innocent murmur
  • hear a murmur
  • heart murmur
  • auscultateTo listen to sounds inside the body, especially the heart, lungs and bowel, with a stethoscope.
  • echocardiogramAn ultrasound scan of the heart that shows its chambers, valves and how strongly it pumps.
  • 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.
  • heart failureA long-term condition in which the heart cannot pump blood around the body as well as it should, often causing breathlessness, tiredness and swollen ankles.

More terms: History Taking and Examination

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

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