Crackles - Coarse (Rales)

Coarse crackles are a loud and distinctive lung sound, often described as popping or bubbling. These intermittent sounds have a lower pitch than their fine counterparts and tend to linger longer in duration - try simulating the noise by rolling pieces of hair between your fingers near your ear!

Auscultation Sounds

Patient Recording of Crackles - Coarse (Rales)

Patient Recording - Half Speed

patient auscultation point for Crackles - Coarse (Rales)

Position

The patient's position should be seated.

Listening Tips for Crackles - Coarse (Rales)

Features:Course crackles are discontinuous, brief, popping sounds. Similar to the sound of a hook and loop fastener being pulled apart. They have also been described as a bubbling sound. More common during inspiration

Waveform (Phonocardiogram)

Authors and Sources

Authors and Reviewers

EKG heart rhythm modules: Thomas O'Brien.
EKG monitor simulation developer: Steve Collmann
12 Lead Course: Dr. Michael Mazzini, MD.
Spanish language EKG: Breena R. Taira, MD, MPH
Medical review: Dr. Jonathan Keroes, MD
Heart sounds and mentorship: W. Proctor Harvey, MD
Medical review: Dr. Pedro Azevedo, MD, Cardiology
Last Update: 1/8/2023

Sources

Electrocardiography for Healthcare Professionals, 5th Edition Kathryn Booth and Thomas O'Brien
ISBN10: 1260064778, ISBN13: 9781260064773
McGraw Hill, 2019
Rapid Interpretation of EKG's, Sixth Edition
Dale Dublin
Cover Publishing Company
12 Lead EKG for Nurses: Simple Steps to Interpret Rhythms, Arrhythmias, Blocks, Hypertrophy, Infarcts, & Cardiac Drugs
Aaron Reed
Create Space Independent Publishing
Heart Sounds and Murmurs: A Practical Guide with Audio CD-ROM 3rd Edition
Elsevier-Health Sciences Division
Barbara A. Erickson, PhD, RN, CCRN
Clinical Heart Disease W Proctor Harvey, MD
Clinical Heart Disease
Laennec Publishing; 1st edition (January 1, 2009)
The Virtual Cardiac Patient: A Multimedia Guide to Heart Sounds, Murmurs, EKG Jonathan Keroes, David Lieberman
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkin)
ISBN-10: 0781784425; ISBN-13: 978-0781784429
Project Semilla, UCLA Emergency Medicine, EKG Training Breena R. Taira, MD, MPH

Return to Reference Guide Index Page

Crackles - Coarse (Rales) | Lessons with Audio and Video | #73