Stethoscopes

The stethoscope (Greek στηθοσκόπιο, of στήθος, stéthos - chest and σκοπή, skopé - examination) is an acoustic medical device for auscultation, i.e. listening to internal sounds in the human body. more...

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It is most often used to listen to heart sounds and breathing (breath sounds), though it is also used to listen to intestines and blood flow in arteries and veins.

History

The stethoscope was invented in France in 1816 by René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec. It consisted of a wooden tube and was monaural. In 1851 Arthur Leared invented a binaural stethoscope, and in 1852 George Cammann perfected the design of the instrument for commercial production, which has become the standard ever since. Cammann also authored a major treatise on diagnosis by auscultation, which the refined binaural stethoscope made possible. By 1873, there were descriptions of a differential stethoscope that could connect to slightly different locations to create a slight stereo effect, though this did not become a standard tool in clinical practise.

Rappaport and Sprague designed a new stethoscope in the 1940's which became the standard by which other stethoscopes are measured. The Rappaport-Sprague was later made by Hewlett-Packard, and today there are still cardiologists who consider it to be the finest acoustic stethoscope. Several other minor refinements were made to stethoscopes until in the early 1960's Dr. Littmann, a Harvard Medical School professor, created a new stethoscope that was lighter than previous models. Littmann followed a long tradition — stethoscopes designed by physicians.

Current practice

The stethoscope is used in aid of diagnosing certain diseases and conditions. The stethoscope is able to transmit certain sounds and exclude others. Before the stethoscope was invented, doctors placed their ear next to the patient's body in hopes of hearing something.

Stethoscopes are often considered as a symbol of the doctor's profession, as doctors are often seen or depicted with a stethoscope hanging around their neck.

Stethoscopes are also used by mechanics to isolate sounds of a particular moving engine part for diagnosis.

Types of stethoscopes

Acoustic

Acoustic stethoscopes are familiar to most people, and operate on the transmission of sound from the chestpiece, via air-filled hollow tubes, to the listener's ears. The chestpiece usually consists of two sides that can be placed against the patient for sensing sound — a diaphragm (plastic disc) or bell (hollow cup). If the diaphragm is placed on the patient, body sounds vibrate the diaphragm, creating acoustic pressure waves which travel up the tubing to the listener's ears. If the bell is placed on the patient, the vibrations of the skin directly produce acoustic pressure waves traveling up to the listener's ears. The bell transmits low frequency sounds, while the diaphragm transmits higher frequency sounds. This 2-sided stethoscope was invented by Rappaport and Sprague in the early part of the 20th century. The problem with acoustic stethoscope is that the sound level is extremely low, making diagnosis difficult.

Read more at Wikipedia.org