AuscultifyAuscultation guides
38 free, practical guides to heart, lung, bowel and vascular sounds: what you should hear, where to listen, and how to train each sound until you recognize it on the first listen.
Jump to: Heart sounds and murmurs · Lung sounds · Bowel sounds · Bruits and vascular sounds · Technique and auscultation sites · Exam prep and practice
Heart sounds and murmurs
S1 to S4, gallops, murmurs and rhythms: what each one sounds like, why it happens and how to name it.
S1 S2 S3 S4 Heart Sounds Explained
What causes each heart sound, where to hear it, and what loud, soft or distant sounds mean.
Read the guide →How to Learn Heart Murmurs
A four-step method for going from "I hear... something" to naming the murmur with confidence.
Read the guide →Systolic vs Diastolic Murmurs
A timing-first framework for classifying any murmur you hear.
Read the guide →Diastolic Murmurs
Early, mid and late diastolic murmurs, their causes, and the 1 to 4 grading scale.
Read the guide →Heart Murmur Mnemonics
MR PASS, MS ARD, RILE and the other memory hooks, with what each one actually encodes.
Read the guide →Gallop vs Murmur
How to tell a brief extra heart sound from a murmur, and the other short sounds that get confused.
Read the guide →S3 vs S4 Heart Sounds
Ken-tuck-y vs Ten-nes-see: how to tell the gallops apart and what each one means.
Read the guide →S3 Heart Sound (Ventricular Gallop)
Causes, where to hear it, and when an S3 is normal versus a sign of heart failure.
Read the guide →S4 Heart Sound (Atrial Gallop)
Why a stiff ventricle produces an S4, what it means, and why it disappears in AFib.
Read the guide →S3 Kentucky, S4 Tennessee
The gallop mnemonic explained, the common mix-up, and how to keep them straight.
Read the guide →Can You Hear S3 in AFib?
Which extra sounds survive atrial fibrillation and why an S4 cannot.
Read the guide →What Does AFib Sound Like?
Recognizing the irregularly irregular rhythm by ear — with real recordings.
Read the guide →Heart Sounds & Pathophysiology
Why each murmur sounds the way it does — the hemodynamics behind every finding.
Read the guide →Reading Phonocardiograms
Interpret heart sound waveforms — diamond shapes, decrescendo slopes and spectrogram training.
Read the guide →Pediatric Heart & Lung Sounds
Innocent vs pathological murmurs, split S2, and the sounds unique to children.
Read the guide →Lung sounds
Crackles, wheezes, rhonchi and stridor, and the questions that separate them at the bedside.
Bowel sounds
Normal rates, hyperactive and hypoactive patterns, and the sounds of obstruction.
Bowel Sounds Auscultation
Normal, hyperactive, hypoactive & absent — what each pattern means and where to listen.
Read the guide →Normal Bowel Sounds Per Minute
The normal 5 to 30 per minute range, hyperactive and hypoactive thresholds, and how long to listen.
Read the guide →Hyperactive Bowel Sounds
Causes, rate and sound character, and when loud bowel sounds are a red flag.
Read the guide →Hypoactive & Absent Bowel Sounds
Ileus, peritonitis, opioids and late obstruction, plus how long to listen before charting absent.
Read the guide →Metallic & Tinkling Bowel Sounds
The high-pitched sounds of bowel obstruction and how they differ from ordinary hyperactivity.
Read the guide →Bruits and vascular sounds
Where to listen over the carotid, renal and abdominal arteries, and what a bruit there means.
Vascular Sounds & Bruits
Carotid, renal and abdominal bruits — where to listen and what they mean clinically.
Read the guide →What Is a Bruit?
Definition, what it sounds like, bruit vs thrill, and where to listen.
Read the guide →Carotid Bruit
What it sounds like, how to auscultate, and how to separate it from transmitted aortic stenosis.
Read the guide →Renal Artery Bruit
Where to listen, what a continuous bruit means, and the link to renal artery stenosis.
Read the guide →Abdominal Aortic Bruit
Auscultating the aorta, iliac and femoral arteries, and what a bruit there suggests.
Read the guide →Technique and auscultation sites
Where to place the stethoscope, which side to use, and how to avoid the mistakes that hide findings.
Heart & Lung Auscultation Sites
All 12 landmarks — where to place the stethoscope and what you should hear at each.
Read the guide →Cardiac Auscultation Areas (APETM)
The 5 sites of the heart, their landmarks, and what you should hear at each.
Read the guide →Lung Auscultation Sites
Anterior, posterior and lateral landmarks, the ladder pattern, and pediatric notes.
Read the guide →Stethoscope Technique Guide
Diaphragm vs bell, correct pressure, patient positioning and the mistakes that cost you findings.
Read the guide →Stethoscope Bell vs Diaphragm
When to use each side for heart, lung, bowel sounds and blood pressure.
Read the guide →Exam prep and practice
OSCE stations, case scenarios, self-tests and a daily routine that turns reading into recognition.
Cardiac Auscultation for OSCEs
How to run the listening portion of the cardio station without freezing.
Read the guide →Respiratory Auscultation for OSCEs
The chest exam station — sequence, findings and how to present like an examiner expects.
Read the guide →Clinical Auscultation Cases
"Patient presents with X — what do you hear?" Case-based scenarios to test your reasoning.
Read the guide →Heart Sounds Quiz: Test Your Ear
Why quizzing beats re-listening, and how to structure practice that transfers to the bedside.
Read the guide →Auscultation Practice That Works
A 10-minute daily routine backed by learning science.
Read the guide →Auscultation Cheat Sheet
Every heart murmur, gallop, click and lung sound in one quick-reference table.
Read the guide →Reading is step one.
Hearing is the skill.
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