Auscultation of the chest

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Auscultation of the chest should be performed in the following manner:
  • ask patient to cough up any sputum before listening
  • use the diaphragm of the stethoscope and consider the surface anatomy of the lungs
  • ask the patient to breath deeply through the mouth
  • listen at top, middle and bottom of both sides of the chest at the front and back and then in the axilla
  • assess the character of the breath sounds
  • assess the vocal resonance

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