auscultation /ôs′kəltā″shən/ [L, auscultare, to listen] , the act of listening for sounds within the body to evaluate the condition of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, pleura, intestines, or other organs or to detect the fetal heart sound. Auscultation may be performed directly with the unaided ear, but most commonly a stethoscope is used to determine the frequency, intensity, duration, and quality of the sounds. −auscultatory, adj., −auscultate, v.
