longgeruis

Longgeruis is a term used in Dutch medical language to describe abnormal respiratory sounds heard during auscultation of the lungs. The word combines long and geruis, effectively translating to “lung noise,” and it has historically functioned as a broad descriptor for adventitious sounds detected with a stethoscope. In practice, longgeruis is not a single sound but a category that can encompass several auditory phenomena produced by airflow through airways that are narrowed, inflamed, or filled with secretions.

In clinical use, longgeruis covers various sound qualities such as wheezes, rhonchi, and crackles. Wheezes are typically musical and continuous, rhonchi are more coarse and sonorous, and crackles are discontinuous and vary from fine to coarse. The specific characterization often depends on the timing within the respiratory cycle (inspiration or expiration) and the patient’s position and cooperation. Because auscultation is qualitative, the term serves as an initial descriptive label that prompts further assessment, including imaging, laboratory tests, or more precise bedside documentation.

Contemporary Dutch medical practice generally encourages describing the exact sound type and its timing rather than relying on the general label longgeruis alone. The term remains part of historical and bedside documentation, while modern notes favor precise terminology such as wheeze, crackle, or rhonchus, linked to the suspected underlying condition (for example, asthma, pneumonia, or heart failure). See also auscultation, respiratory sounds, and clinical documentation standards.