Hamman's sign

Hamman's sign
Differential diagnosispneumomediastinum

Hamman's sign (rarely, Hammond's sign[1] or Hammond's crunch[2]) is a medical sign consisting of a crunching, rasping sound, synchronous with the heartbeat,[3] heard over the precordium in spontaneous mediastinal emphysema. It is thought to result from the heart beating against air-filled tissues.

It is named after Johns Hopkins clinician Louis Hamman, M.D.[4]

This sound is heard best over the left lateral position.[5] It has been described as a series of precordial crackles that correlate with the heart beat rather than respiration.

  1. ^ Shabetai, Ralph (2003-10-31). The Pericardium - Google Book Search. Springer. ISBN 9781402076398. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
  2. ^ Hadjis T, Palisaitis D, Dontigny L, Allard M (March 1995). "Benign pneumopericardium and tamponade". Can J Cardiol. 11 (3): 232–4. PMID 7889442.
  3. ^ "Hamman sign" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
  4. ^ synd/3001 at Who Named It?
  5. ^ McCann], [executive publisher, Judith A. Shilling (2008). Nursing. Ambler, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 171. ISBN 9781582556680.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)