1. Nature of cough Dry or irritating cough is seen in chronic laryngitis, laryngeal cancer, bronchitis, tracheal compression, bronchial foreign bodies, bronchial tumors and external ear irritation; wet or sputum-rich cough is seen in bronchitis, bronchiectasis, lung abscess, pulmonary parasitic disease and tuberculosis with cavitation. 2. Cough rhythm A single, slight cough is mostly seen in patients with laryngitis, bronchitis, smokers and early tuberculosis. Habitual cough is also of this type. Paroxysmal (spasmodic) cough is most often seen in foreign body aspiration, whooping cough, bronchial asthma, endobronchial tuberculosis and bronchial tumors. Continuous cough is mostly seen in general bronchopulmonary inflammation. 3. Coughing time Morning cough is mostly seen in patients with chronic inflammation of the upper whistle tract, chronic bronchitis and bronchiectasis; as secretions flow or are trapped in the bronchi during sleep, there are bouts of violent coughing to expel secretions in the morning after waking up. Nocturnal cough is more common in patients with tuberculosis and heart failure. 4. Coughing tone A short, light cough or a cough that does not feel good is most often seen in dry pleurisy, lobar pneumonia, chest and abdominal trauma or after surgery, and the patient often presses his hand on the affected area when coughing to relieve pain. A barking cough is often seen in laryngeal disorders, swollen vocal cords, foreign bodies in the trachea, or bronchial compression. A hoarse cough is seen in inflammation of the vocal cords or vocal cord paralysis due to a mediastinal mass compressing the recurrent laryngeal nerve. 5. Paroxysmal features Pertussis patients have a paroxysmal (spasmodic) continuous violent cough. When a deep inspiration is made after 10 to 20 coughs, the airflow through the narrow larynx can produce a high-pitched roar. In patients with bronchial asthma, paroxysmal coughing with whistling croup occurs when the attack is about to stop. 6. Change in body posture Patients with severe bronchiectasis have a weakened cough reflex due to destruction of the bronchial lining. Although there is a large amount of sputum retention, the cough is little and weak; once the body position is changed, the cough occurs due to the flow of secretions stimulating the bronchial mucosa, and the cough is relieved only after coughing up a large amount of accumulated sputum. In abscess chest with bronchopleural fistula, coughing is triggered by pus entering the fistula in a certain position and coughing up a large amount of pus. Patients with mediastinal tumors and large pleural effusions also cause coughing when they change position.