The Modern Stethoscope Has Come A Long Way Since Its Inception

The modern stethoscope is a medical instrument used by doctors and nurses to listen to the bodily sounds of their patients. It was originally devised by a physician in France named Rene Lannec in the early nineteenth century. It was a simple instrument then, consisting of only a short wooden tube that had a flange on the end shaped like a bell.

The sounds of both breathing and of the hearts actions could be heard when it was placed against the chest with the physicians ear against the other end. Until the early twentieth century little had changed about the stethoscope until a New York doctor named G.P. Cammann developed the modern looking binaural instrument we see today.

It consisted of two earpieces with flexible rubber tubing connecting them to the two-branched metal chest cone. Thus the sounds could be heard with both ears, and the instrument's flexibility permitted the physician to listen to various areas without changing his position.

Fast forward to today and the electronic stethoscope allows several doctors or nurses to listen to the same thing at the same time.

Stethoscopy (also called auscultation), used together with percussion (light tapping of the chest), is a fundamental diagnostic measure in medical practice. The qualities of the sounds emitted by the lungs and heart denote the health or abnormality of these organs.

Skillful use of a stethoscope can be used to detect abnormalities of the lungs, heart, stomach, intestines, and other organs early and so can be treated before further deterioration occurs.

Solvents can accelerate the dissolving of the plasticizers that keep these parts flexible and looking new. Always use regular soap to clean this instrument.

In addition, when they are manufactured stethoscopes with two-sided chest pieces are lubricated where the chest piece rotates around the stem and need to be re-lubricated periodically, just like any other machine. If these moving parts are not lubricated, they grind together and ruin the fine tolerances required for the proper acoustic performance of the stethoscope.

Cleaning the stethoscope will also remove lubricants, making periodic lubrication essential. Most lubricants must be kept away from rubber, vinyl, and plastic parts.

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