A scratchy, grating sound heard during breathing caused by inflamed pleural surfaces rubbing against each other. It indicates pleuritis or pericarditis and sounds like leather rubbing together.
The term combines 'friction' from Latin 'frictio' meaning 'rubbing' and 'rub' from Middle English, describing the physical mechanism. It was first described in medical literature in the 19th century as physicians learned to distinguish different chest sounds.
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