Venous hum
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Synonyms and keywords: Bruit de diable, devil's noise, nun's murmur
Overview
Venous hum is a benign medical condition where 20% of the blood flow travels to the brain and back to the heart. Due to the large amount of blood it can move quite fast causing the vein walls to vibrate which can create a humming noise to be heard by the patient.
This can also be confused with a heart murmur but is in fact not. It is heard throughout the cardiac cycle. The difference is easily detected by placing a finger on the jugular vein when listening to the heart. The murmur disappears when the patient is lying supine. It is also known by the names "nun's murmur" and "bruit de diable" (the Devil's noise).