I always dreamt of having it around my neck. And I did achieve it. It feels so honoured to have it around the neck. As women have golden necklaces, we doctors have a stethoscope. But very little did I know about it. As a kid, I dreamed of owning it. Many kids dream of becoming doctors just because of it. It is every doctor’s favourite tool. Let’s learn Stethoscope Origin and Significance.
Origin
It all began in the 1860’s,by French doctor Rene Laennec (a shy guy). To avoid putting his ear on a female patient’s chest in order to hear the heartbeat. He ended up creating the first basic version of the stethoscope, by rolling up a paper tube and using it as a funnel.
First version of Stethoscope
Being himself helped him to invent the stethoscope, which is now everybody’s favourite tool. It not only solved the problem but he realised it also amplified sounds. Then it became a familiar tool. He named stethoscope stethos(chest) & scope(see). Then it took many years to modify it.
In 1961, Harvard Medical School professor and cardiologist Dr. David Littmann described what he wanted in an ideal stethoscope in the American Medical Association journal. He described a device with an open chest piece for low-pitched sounds, a closed piece for higher pitched sounds, firm tubing in the “shortest length possible,” a spring to hold the earpieces together when they are not in use, and for the device to be lightweight. Littmann was successful in creating his vision.
Dr David Littmann
Uses
Each sound from the body says something about the diagnosis.
It is used to Auscultate chest to hear heartbeats, breath sounds & abnormal sounds like crepts, crackling, rumbling.
To Auscultate abdomen to hear bowel sounds.
Example; A case of Tension pneumothorax can be diagnosed just by hearing breath sounds in which case are absent and treat it as an emergency. Imagine the same scenario without a stethoscope. Patient would have not survived. This is the significance of stethoscopes in medicine.
Significance
Stethoscopes earn respect among society. Many people wear white apron, other than doctors like lab technicians, chemists, science students and scientists. But what makes doctors different from them is the stethoscope which they don’t own. That’s what a stethoscope means to doctors.
In OPD(out patient dept), simply keeping the diaphragm of a stethoscope on a patient’s chest makes him relaxed, makes him believe he is all fine. That’s the power of a stethoscope,only the doctor and his patient know it. I now feel truly honoured. Next time you have it, handle it with respect. I hope you got to know Stethoscope Origin and Significance.
-Being Medico
