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.
Friction rubs are so distinctive that they're often described as sounding like walking on fresh snow or rubbing two pieces of leather together - and amazingly, they can sometimes be felt as well as heard! Unlike other lung sounds, pleural friction rubs occur during both inspiration and expiration, making them unique acoustic fingerprints of inflammation.
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