This is more prominently heard during expiration. This is more prominently heard towards the end of inspiration. Rhonchi are abnormal breath sounds having a continuous crackling nature. Rales are abnormal breaths having a discontinuous crackling nature. Coarse rales have a unique gurgling nature and occur when the fluid level is slightly more than that in the other two categories. Medium rales arise when the air passes through more larger and wider airways such as bronchi. They can be clearly heard at the end of inspiration. Fine rales are produced in the smaller airways such as alveolar ducts and bronchioles.

The passage of air through a moist airway is the underlying cause of this condition.įor the convenience of describing the clinical features, rales have been rather tentatively categorized into three categories as fine rales, medium rales, and coarse rales. They have a characteristic discontinuous crackling or clicking nature. Rales are a type of abnormal breath sounds heard during the auscultation. Side by Side Comparison – Rales vs Rhonchi in Tabular Form Although it seems like a quite easy task the correct identification of the sound, it requires years of experience and a well-trained ear to differentiate the two conditions through the stethoscope. This is the key difference between rales and rhonchi. Rhonchi also have this clicking or the rattling nature, but the continuity of the sound distinguishes rhonchi from rales. Rales are characterized by the discontinuous clicking sound. Both rales and rhonchi are abnormal sounds in the lungs heard during auscultation.

Ronchi lung sounds