View source for Crepitus

{{About|the medical term|the Roman god|Crepitus (mythology)}}
{{Unreferenced|date=June 2010}}
{{Infobox_Disease |
  Name           = Crepitus |
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  ICD9           = {{ICD9|719.60}}, {{ICD9|756.0}} |
  ICDO           = |
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  MedlinePlus    = |
  eMedicineSubj  = |
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}}

{{See also|Cracking joints}}

'''Crepitus''' is a [[medical]] term to describe the grating, crackling or popping sounds and sensations experienced under the [[skin]] and [[joints]].

==Causes==
{{Wiktionary}}

The sound can be created when two rough surfaces in the human body come into contact—for example, in [[osteoarthritis]] or [[rheumatoid arthritis]] when the [[cartilage]] around joints has eroded away and the joint ends grind against one another, or when the [[fracture]] surfaces of two broken [[bone]]s rub together. This makes the presence of crepitus a useful and common (albeit painful) definitive symptom of [[bone fracture]].

In soft tissues, crepitus can be produced when gas is introduced into an area where it normally isn't present. 

The term can also be used when describing the sounds produced by [[lung]] conditions such as [[interstitial lung disease]]—these are also referred to as "[[rales]]". Crepitus is often loud enough to be heard by the [[human ear]], although a [[stethoscope]] may be needed to detect instances caused by [[respiratory]] diseases. 

In times of poor surgical practice, post-surgical complications involved [[Anaerobic organism|anaerobic]] infection by ''[[Clostridium perfringens]]'' [[strains]], which can cause [[gas gangrene]] in [[Tissue (biology)|tissues]], also giving rise to crepitus.  

Subcutaneous crepitus (or surgical emphysema) is a crackling sound resulting from [[subcutaneous emphysema]], or air trapped in the [[subcutaneous tissue]]s.

{{Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue}}
{{Congenital malformations and deformations of musculoskeletal system}}

[[Category:Medical signs]]


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[[ru:Крепитация]]
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