atelectatic rale

a nonpathologic rale that is dissipated by deep breathing or coughing and is best observed at the margin of a lung. This type is frequently heard in those who breathe feebly and superficially, when on deep inhalation the moist walls of the unexpanded alveoli are suddenly forced apart by the entering air; after a few deep inhalations these rales are lost. Called also marginal or border r.