crepitus /krep″itəs/ [L, crackling] , 1. flatulence or the noisy discharge of fetid gas from the intestine through the anus. 2. a sound or feel that resembles the crackling noise heard when rubbing hair between the fingers or throwing salt on an open fire. Crepitus is associated with gas gangrene, rubbing of bone fragments, air in superficial tissues, or crackles of a consolidated area of the lung in pneumonia. Also called crepitation. 3. a clicking sound often heard in movement of joints, for example, in temporomandibular joint resulting from joint irregularities.
