Undetected superior laryngeal nerve injury presenting as noncardiogenic pulmonary edema.

obstructed, accounted for the timing; small caliber and high transmural pressures, for the character. I advocate the term “chirping rales” for this singular finding. (One must caution against the possibility ofconfusing the term “chirping rales” with “chirpes,” the latter designating a well-known and regrettably common disorder of amorous songbirds.) More euphonious than “squawk, the onomatopoetic “chirp” more closely emulates the actual sound; it has the sanction of prior usage4 and encompasses both auscultatory components. Chirping rales of EAA are distinguished from the findings in bronchiolitis obliterans by later occurrence during inspiration, diffuseness, clinical setting, and absence ofairway obstruction.’ It is a melancholy experience for those who would popularize a sign, when they see no way to substantiate its existence by means of three, four, or six imaging techniques. Having no other recourse available, I will now, therefore, humbly propose my own thoughts (the author wishes to acknowledge with deepest gratitude the “Modest” contribution of J. Swift, D.D., to this portion of the manuscript), which I hope will not be liable to the least objection: A manually operated, sonically activated cylindrical auscultating tool (SCAT), convenient for chest scanning, may be helpful in suggesting EAA in patients with diffuse interstitial lung disease. Its many other applications in this field I omit, being studious of brevity. I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote the use of stethoscopy: being the practitioner of a cognitive specialty, my emoluments are too small to finance their manufacture, and my wife is in similar exiguous circumstances.