The neck venous hum in adults.
In a survey of 200 persons, ages 18 to 76, the incidence of normal cervical venous hum was 47 per cent in young adults and 21 per cent in persons of middle and older age, a group in whom it once was thought to be rare. The importance of the hum is that it may be misinterpreted as caused by a pathologic state such as an arteriovenous aneurysm, aortic insufficiency, carotid artery stenosis, patent ductus arteriosus or thyrotoxicosis. The normal cervical venous hum may be distinguished clinically from murmurs associated with disease states by the fact that it can be silenced by light pressure over the jugular vein.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001314:Auscultation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007601:Jugular Veins; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck