Which lung sound is associated with inspiration and is harsh?

• A. Stridor
• B. Crackles
• C. Wheezes
• D. Apnea

Answer: (A)

A harsh inspiratory sound points to upper airway obstruction. Stridor is exactly that—an inspiratory, harsh, and often loud sound produced as air moves through a narrowed larynx or trachea. It reflects turbulence from an obstruction above the thoracic inlet, and you’ll often hear it with conditions like croup, epiglottitis, a foreign body in the airway, or laryngeal edema.

By comparison, crackles are the fine or coarse popping sounds heard on inspiration that come from fluid in the small airways and alveoli, and they aren’t described as harsh. Wheezes are continuous, musical sounds usually heard during expiration (though they can occur with inspiration) and indicate narrowed airways rather than a fixed upper-airway blockage. Apnea refers to the absence of breathing, not a lung sound. So the harsh inspiratory sound described is stridor.