# Crepitus > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Crepitus > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Crepitus.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepitus > Source revision: 1327721936 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Grating sound or feeling due to friction between bones or joints}} {{About|the medical term|the Roman god|Crepitus (mythology)}} {{refimprove|date=June 2010}} '''Crepitus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|r|ɛ|p|ɪ|t|ə|s}}) or '''crepitation''' is "a grating sound or sensation produced by friction between [bone](/source/bone) and [cartilage](/source/cartilage) or the [fractured](/source/bone_fracture) parts of a bone". Various types of crepitus that can be heard in joint pathologies are: *Bone crepitus: This can be heard when two fragments of a fracture are moved against each other. *Joint crepitus: This can be obtained when the affected [joint](/source/joint) is passively moved with one hand, while the other hand is placed on the joint to feel the crepitus. *Crepitus of [bursitis](/source/bursitis): This is heard when the fluid in the [bursa](/source/Synovial_bursa) contains small, loose fibrinous particles. *Crepitus of [tenosynovitis](/source/tenosynovitis): From [inflammation](/source/inflammation) of the fluid-filled sheath ([synovium](/source/synovium)) that surrounds a [tendon](/source/tendon). ==Causes== The sound can be created when two rough surfaces in an organism's body come into contact—for example, in [osteoarthritis](/source/osteoarthritis) or [rheumatoid arthritis](/source/rheumatoid_arthritis) when the [cartilage](/source/cartilage) around joints erodes and the surfaces in the joint grind against one another, or when the two [fractured](/source/Bone_fracture) surfaces of the broken [bone](/source/bone)s rub together. Crepitus is a common sign of [bone fracture](/source/bone_fracture). Crepitus can easily be created and observed by exerting a small amount of force on a joint, thus '[cracking it](/source/cracking_joints)'. This may be caused by bubbles of [nitrogen](/source/nitrogen) forming in the [synovial fluid](/source/synovial_fluid) bursting. Almost every joint in the body can be 'cracked' in this way, but the joints which require the least amount of force to produce this effect include the [hallux](/source/Toe) (big toes), the [knuckle](/source/knuckle)s and the neck joints. This phenomenon is caused when the movement of the joint lowers the pressure of its synovial fluid, causing the bubbles to form and burst. A [refractory period](/source/Refractory_period_(physiology)) of about 20 minutes exists where the joint cannot be stimulated to produce crepitus after being cracked until the nitrogen gas dissolves back into the synovial fluid.{{Cite web |date=2018-03-29 |title=Simulation May Finally Explain Why Knuckle Cracking Makes That Awful Sound |url=https://gizmodo.com/now-we-know-why-knuckle-cracking-makes-that-awful-sound-1824154323 |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=Gizmodo |language=en}} In soft tissues, crepitus can be produced when gas is introduced into an area where it is normally not present. The term can also be used when describing the sounds produced by [lung](/source/lung) conditions such as [interstitial lung disease](/source/interstitial_lung_disease); these are also referred to as "[rales](/source/rales)". Crepitus is often loud enough to be heard by the [human ear](/source/human_ear), although a [stethoscope](/source/stethoscope) may be needed to detect instances caused by [respiratory](/source/respiratory) diseases. In times of poor surgical practice, post-surgical complications involved [anaerobic](/source/Anaerobic_organism) infection by ''[Clostridium perfringens](/source/Clostridium_perfringens)'' [strains](/source/strain_(biology)), which can cause [gas gangrene](/source/gas_gangrene) in [tissues](/source/Tissue_(biology)), also giving rise to crepitus. Subcutaneous crepitus (or surgical emphysema) is a crackling sound resulting from [subcutaneous emphysema](/source/subcutaneous_emphysema), or air trapped in the [subcutaneous tissue](/source/subcutaneous_tissue)s. == See also == * [Joint cracking](/source/Joint_cracking) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== * {{cite journal |vauthors=Richards RR, McKee MD |title=Treatment of painful scapulothoracic crepitus by resection of the superomedial angle of the scapula. A report of three cases |journal=Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research |issue=247 |pages=111–6 | date=October 1989 |pmid=2791379 |doi=10.1097/00003086-198910000-00019}} * {{cite journal |vauthors=Jiang CC, Liu YJ, Yip KM, Wu E |title=Physiological patellofemoral crepitus in knee joint disorders |journal=Bulletin |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=22–6 |year=1993 |pmid=8829591}} * {{cite journal |vauthors=Kuhn JE, Plancher KD, Hawkins RJ |title=Symptomatic scapulothoracic crepitus and bursitis |journal=The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons |volume=6 |issue=5 |pages=267–73 |year=1998 |doi=10.5435/00124635-199809000-00001 |pmid=9753753 |s2cid=24203563 |url=http://www.jaaos.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=9753753|url-access=subscription }} * {{cite journal |vauthors=Dennis DA, Kim RH, Johnson DR, Springer BD, Fehring TK, Sharma A |title=The John Insall Award: control-matched evaluation of painful patellar Crepitus after total knee arthroplasty |journal=Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research |volume=469 |issue=1 |pages=10–7 | date=January 2011 |pmid=20706813 |pmc=3008897 |doi=10.1007/s11999-010-1485-3}} * {{cite news |first=Anahad |last=O'Connor |date=December 15, 2014 |title=Why Do My Knees Make Noise When I Squat? |url=http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/ask-well-why-do-my-knees-make-noise-when-i-squat/ |department=Ask Well |work=The New York Times}} == External links == * {{Wiktionary-inline}} {{Medical resources | DiseasesDB = | ICD10 = {{ICD10|R29.898}} ICD9 = {{ICD9|719.60}}, {{ICD9|756.0}} | ICDO = | OMIM = | MedlinePlus = | eMedicineSubj = | eMedicineTopic = | MeshID = }} {{Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue}} {{Congenital malformations and deformations of musculoskeletal system}} Category:Medical signs --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Crepitus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepitus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepitus?action=history)). 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