section_path: Clinical significance/Examination
section_name: Examination
paragraph_text: Examination
  
  As part of a physical examination in response to respiratory symptoms of shortness of breath, and cough, a lung examination may be carried out. This exam includes palpation and auscultation. The areas of the lungs that can be listened to using a stethoscope are called the lung fields, and these are the posterior, lateral, and anterior lung fields. The posterior fields can be listened to from the back and include: the lower lobes (taking up three quarters of the posterior fields); the anterior fields taking up the other quarter; and the lateral fields under the axillae, the left axilla for the lingual, the right axilla for the middle right lobe. The anterior fields can also be auscultated from the front. An area known as the triangle of auscultation is an area of thinner musculature on the back which allows improved listening. Abnormal breathing sounds heard during a lung exam can indicate the presence of a lung condition; wheezing for example is commonly associated with asthma and COPD.