Coarse crackles, indicating secretions, are usually located in which part of the airway?

Coarse crackles are abnormal lung sounds that often indicate the presence of secretions in the airways. When these crackles are present, they typically arise from the large airways, which include the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles. The sound results from the sudden opening of collapsed airways filled with fluid or mucus during breathing.

In the case of coarse crackles, they usually suggest that there is a significant amount of secretions present in the large airways. This could be due to conditions such as bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), where mucus accumulation is common. The sound is produced when air moves through these secretions as the person breathes, creating the characteristic crackling noise.

While other locations such as the alveoli may produce different types of breath sounds (like fine crackles associated with fluid in the alveolar spaces), coarse crackles specifically indicate a problem at the level of the large airways where secretions accumulate more readily.