Stethoscope Essay

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Stethoscope From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Modern stethoscope. The stethoscope (from Greek στηθοσκόπιο, from στήθος, stéthos - chest and σκοπή, skopé - examination) is an acoustic medical device for auscultation, or listening to the internal sounds of an animal body. It is often used to listen to lung and heart sounds. It is also used to listen to intestines and blood flow in arteries and veins. In combination with a sphygmomanometer, it is commonly used for measurements of blood pressure. Less commonly, "mechanic's stethoscopes" are used to listen to internal sounds made by machines, such as diagnosing a malfunctioning automobile engine by listening to the sounds of its internal parts. Stethoscopes can also be used to check scientific vacuum chambers for leaks, and for various other small-scale acoustic monitoring tasks. A stethoscope that intensifies auscultatory sounds is called phonendoscope. Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Current practice 3 Types of stethoscopes 3.1 Acoustic 3.2 Electronic 3.2.1 Recording stethoscopes 3.3 Fetal stethoscope 4 Stethoscope earpieces 5 Maintenance 6 See also 7 References 8 External links [edit]History Early stethoscopes. The stethoscope was invented in France in 1816 by René Laennec at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris.[1] It consisted of a wooden tube and was monaural. His device was similar to the common ear trumpet, a historical form of hearing aid; indeed, his invention was almost indistinguishable in structure and function from the trumpet, which was commonly called a "microphone". The first flexible stethoscope of any sort may have been a binaural instrument with articulated joints not very clearly described in 1829.[2] In 1840, Golding Bird described a stethoscope he had been using with a flexible tube. Bird was the first to publish a description of such a stethoscope but he noted in

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