What is "crepitation"

Crepitation \Crep`i*ta"tion\ (kr?p`?-t?"sh?n), n. [Cf. F. cr['e]pitation.]

1. The act of crepitating or crackling.

2. (Med.)

   1. A grating or crackling sensation or sound, as that produced by rubbing two fragments of a broken bone together, or by pressing upon cellular tissue containing air.

   2. A crepitant r[^a]le. [1913 Webster] ||

1650s, noun of action from Latin crepitare "to crackle," frequentative of crepare "to crack, creak" (see raven). In medical use from 1834.

n. 1 The act of crepitate or crackling. 2 A grating or crackling sensation or sound, as that produced by rubbing two fragments of a broken bone together, or by pressing upon cellular tissue containing air. 3 A crepitant rale.

n. the sharp sound of snapping noises [syn: crackle, crackling]

Crepitation refers to situations where noises are produced by the rubbing of parts one against the other, as in:

• Crepitus, a crunching sensation felt in certain medical problems
• Rales or crackles, abnormal sounds heard over the lungs with a stethoscope
• A mechanism of sound production in grasshoppers during flight. Also called "wing snapping".