Egophony

/ɛɡɒˈfəni/ noun

Definition

A medical condition where a patient's spoken voice, when heard through a stethoscope over the lungs, sounds distorted or unnaturally clear and loud—often a sign of pneumonia or fluid in the lungs.

Etymology

From ego- (self, though here referring to the patient's own voice) plus -phony (sound). The term was coined in medical practice to describe the specific acoustic phenomenon observed during lung examination.

Kelly Says

Egophony is one of medicine's coolest diagnostic tricks—when a doctor listens to your lungs and hears your voice come through strangely loud and clear (like you're saying 'ay' but it sounds like 'ee'), that's a red flag for pneumonia or fluid buildup.

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