Bruit, also called vascular murmur, is the abnormal sound generated by turbulent flow of blood in an artery due to either an area of partial obstruction or a localized high rate of blood flow through an unobstructed artery.
The bruit may be heard ("auscultated") by securely placing the head of a stethoscope to the skin over the turbulent flow, and listening. Most bruits occur only in systole, so the bruit is intermittent and its frequency dependent on the heart rate. Anything increasing the blood flow velocity such as fever, anemia, hyperthyroidism, or physical exertion, can increase the amplitude of the bruit.
Etymology It is naturalized from the French word for "noise", although another notes that and are also common, and others give only for the cardiac sense.
Associated terms
Describing location of a partial obstruction Peripheral vascular disease; femoral artery stenosis Renal artery stenosis Stroke, carotid artery stenosis Aortic aneurysm Tinnitus – a symptom which may be caused by a cranial artery bruit Arteriovenous malformation Coarctation of the aorta Hepatocellular carcinoma Alcoholic hepatitis
Describing the mechanism of a partial obstruction Atherosclerosis (atheroma or plaque) (cholesterol deposition in artery wall) Median arcuate ligament syndrome, celiac artery stenosis – external compression
Describing location of localized high blood flow Arteriovenous (AV) fistula – pathologic or surgically created Graves' disease, goitre Paget's disease
Unclassified Polymyalgia rheumatica Giant cell arteritis Fibromuscular dysplasia IgG4-related disease
See also Carotid bruit Souffle
References
External links
American Heart Organization