A souffle () is a vascular or cardiac murmur with a blowing quality when heard on

auscultation Auscultation (based on the Latin verb ''auscultare'' "to listen") is listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope. Auscultation is performed for the purposes of examining the circulatory and respiratory systems (hea ...

. It is particularly used to describe

vascular murmur Bruit, also called vascular murmur, is the abnormal sound generated by turbulent flow of blood in an artery due to either an area of partial obstruction or a localized high rate of blood flow through an unobstructed artery. The bruit may be hear ...

s or transmitter heart sounds which occur during pregnancy, either from the uterus and breasts of the mother, or from the fetus.

Uterine souffle

Uterine souffle or placental souffle is a soft, blowing sound heard using a stethoscope, usually in the second trimester of pregnancy (13–28 weeks). This sound is heard most clearly in the lower part of the uterus and is synchronous with the pulse of the mother. The uterine souffle is produced by the rush of blood through the dilated vessels of the uterus. On auscultation, uterine souffle may often be confused with

funic souffle A souffle () is a vascular or cardiac murmur with a blowing quality when heard on auscultation. It is particularly used to describe vascular murmurs or transmitter heart sounds which occur during pregnancy, either from the uterus and breasts of the ...

, which is a sharp, whistling sound that is synchronous with the pulse of the foetus. Therefore, the maternal pulse must be palpated simultaneously in order to confirm uterine souffle. Uterine souffle is considered as a probable objective sign of pregnancy.

Funic souffle

Funic souffle (also known as funicular or fetal souffle), is a blowing sound heard in synch with fetal heart sounds, and may originate from the umbilical cord. It has also been described as a sharp, whistling sound that is synchronous with the pulse of the foetus, usually heard during the second trimester of pregnancy (13–28 weeks). It is heard because of the rush of blood through the

umbilical arteries The umbilical artery is a paired artery (with one for each half of the body) that is found in the abdominal and pelvic regions. In the fetus, it extends into the umbilical cord. Structure Development The umbilical arteries supply deoxygenated bl ...

of the foetus, and is therefore synchronous with the foetal pulse. The funic souffle is not heard consistently. On auscultation, funic souffle may often be confused with

uterine souffle A souffle () is a vascular or cardiac murmur with a blowing quality when heard on auscultation. It is particularly used to describe vascular murmurs or transmitter heart sounds which occur during pregnancy, either from the uterus and breasts of the ...

, which is a soft, blowing sound synchronous with the maternal pulse. Therefore, the maternal pulse must be palpated simultaneously in order to differentiate

from funic souffle.

Mammary souffle

A mammary souffle is a maternal cardiac murmur heard over the

breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secret ...

Notes

References

Symptoms and signs: Cardiac {{med-sign-stub