History of the Stethoscope
The Man Behind the Stethoscope
![Picture](/uploads/1/6/4/0/16402722/1359591815.png)
René Laennec
Was born:February
17,178 Quimper
Died: August
13,1826 Kerlouan
A stethoscope is a diagnostic instrument used by a health care professional to listen to sounds produced within a patient's body.
Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laënnec was a French physician who, in 1816, invented the stethoscope. Using this type of instrument, he investigated the sound made by the heart and lungs and determined that his diagnoses were supported by the observations made during autopsies. Laënnec later published the first seminal work on the use of listening to body sounds. The stethoscope may be the one instrument common to all doctors. The word stethoscope comes from the Greek words
stethos, meaning chest, and skopein, meaning to explore. Laënnec’s wooden tube was the first true stethoscope. Wooden stethoscopes were used until the latter half of the 19th century, when rubber tubing was developed. Since the introduction of the stethoscope in 1819, several modifications have been introduced, such as the binaural, the diaphragm, and the combined bell and diaphragm.
Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laënnec was a French physician who, in 1816, invented the stethoscope. Using this type of instrument, he investigated the sound made by the heart and lungs and determined that his diagnoses were supported by the observations made during autopsies. Laënnec later published the first seminal work on the use of listening to body sounds. The stethoscope may be the one instrument common to all doctors. The word stethoscope comes from the Greek words
stethos, meaning chest, and skopein, meaning to explore. Laënnec’s wooden tube was the first true stethoscope. Wooden stethoscopes were used until the latter half of the 19th century, when rubber tubing was developed. Since the introduction of the stethoscope in 1819, several modifications have been introduced, such as the binaural, the diaphragm, and the combined bell and diaphragm.
Background of the Stethoscope
Most modren stethoscopes are binaural that is the instrument for use with both ears. Stethoscopes comprise two flexible rubber tubes running from a valve to the earpieces. the valve also connects the tubes to the chest piece, it can be either a bell-shaped piece to pick up low sounds or a flat disk for higher frequencies. It is also used to listen to the sound of air moving through the lungs in order to detect abnormalities in the air tubes and sacs found in the lung walls. It is also useful for blood flow in the arteries, veins and capillaries. Laennec was approached by a group of urchins to listen to the sound created by scratching a pin on one end of a wooden beam. Laennec created the first makeshift by rolling a stack of papers into a cylinder.