What are beta blockers and how do they work? Beta blockers, also known as beta-adrenergic blocking agents, are a class of drugs that works by blocking the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and epinephrine from binding to receptors. There are three known types of beta receptors, known as beta1 (Î²1), beta2 (Î²2) and beta3 (Î²3).
Although many newer imaging techniques for the evaluation of lung pathology have been developed, auscultation of the chest remains an invaluable clinical tool and is still probably the most common method of evaluating the lung. Evaluation of lung sounds is a routine part of a clinical examination. Breath sounds can be classified into 2 broad categories: normal breath sounds and adventitious (or abnormal) sounds. Adventitious breath sounds include wheezes, coarse crackles, fine crackles, and rhonchi. See the video of breath sound assessment, below.
So, here is an RT 101 coarse on how to listen to lung sounds. If I disagree with what you learned in RT, RN or DR school I apologize. But this is how you hear lung sounds. First, you listen to the apices while the patient is breathing normal. Many times, though, the patient could have the worse lung sounds and still sound clear in the front, so this should never be the only place you listen.