A wheeze is a high-pitched, musical, adventitious lung sound produced by airflow through an abnormally narrowed or compressed airway(s). A wheeze is synonymous with a high-pitched or sibilant rhonchus.
Asthma is a heterogeneous syndrome characterized by variable, reversible airway obstruction and abnormally increased responsiveness (hyperreactivity) of the airways to various stimuli. The syndrome is characterized by wheezing, chest tightness, dyspnea, and/or cough, and results from widespread contraction of tracheobronchial smooth muscle (bronchoconstriction), hypersecretion of mucus, and mucosal edema, all of which narrow the caliber of the airways. The resulting airflow obstruction may be chronic or episodic, with respiratory symptoms resolving either spontaneously or as a result of therapy (bronchodilators or corticosteroids). A generally accepted definition of asthma does not yet exist because the syndrome has different causes, mechanisms, clinical features, and responses to therapy.
Copyright © 1990, Butterworth Publishers, a division of Reed Publishing.