Listening to the sounds made by the various body structures as a diagnostic method. [L. ausculto, pp. -atus, to listen to]
- mediate a. a. performed with the use of a stethoscope.
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aus·cul·ta·tion .ȯ-skəl-'tā-shən n the act of listening to sounds arising within organs (as the lungs or heart) as an aid to diagnosis and treatment
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n.
the process of listening, usually with the aid of a stethoscope, to sounds produced by movement of gas or liquid within the body. Auscultation is an aid to diagnosis of abnormalities of the heart, lungs, intestines, and other organs according to the characteristic changes in sound pattern caused by different disease processes.
• auscultatory adj.
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aus·cul·ta·tion (aws″kəl-taґshən) the act of listening for sounds within the body, chiefly for ascertaining the condition of the lungs, heart, pleura, abdomen and other organs, and for the detection of pregnancy or monitoring fetal heart sounds.Medical dictionary. 2011.