A History of Stethoscopes

	South Australian Medical Heritage Society Inc Website for the Virtual Museum
Home Coming meetings Past meetings About the Society Galleries of the Virtual Museum Main Galleries Medicine Surgery Anaesthesia X-rays Hospitals,other organisations Individuals of note Small Galleries Dentistry Nursing Ethnic medicine - Aboriginal - Chinese - Mediterran	A History of Stethoscopes The word stethoscope is derived from the two Greek words, stethos (chest) and scopos (examination). Apart from listening to the heart and chest sounds, it is also used to hear bowel sounds and blood flow noises in arteries and veins. Rene-Theophile-Hyacinth Lannec appears to be the inventor of the stethoscope in 1816 when he used a wooden tube to listen to chest sounds. It was mono-aural and later models were made of metal and used to listen to foetal heart sounds. Some 20 years later a binaural model was developed using rubber tubes and ear pieces. Most devices had a bell shaped device used for low frequency sounds and a diaphragm which was more suited to higher pitched sounds. These were often separate, but later in the 20th. century they were combined, ie two sided. A spring to press the ear pieces to the ears came later. In 1963 Dr. David Littmann patented a much improved version. It had a single short tube connected to a “two sided” stethoscope which bifurcated into the ear pieces. The physics seem to be based on vibrations which the chest and other noises produce. The bell receives the skin vibrations which produce acoustic pressure waves which are transmitted to the listener's ears. The diaphragm reduces the low pitched vibrations. About 10 years ago several types of electronic stethoscopes were introduced. This is similar to placing a microphone on the chest wall, but has circuits to reduce unwanted adventitial sounds. ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The following stethoscopes and end pieces have been photographed with the kind permission of the owner, Dr. Richard Bowering . Early monoaural wooden stethoscope. Home made wooden stethoscopes Home made wooden stethoscope.- note soft pad on the end placed next to the listener's ear. A patented diaphragm biaural stethoscope & container Container lid A collection of “bell” type stethoscopes A collection of combined “bell” and diaphragm stethoscopes English combined stethoscope with a lever to change between bell & diaphragm -o0o-

South Australian Medical Heritage Society Inc

Website for the Virtual Museum

Home
Coming meetings
Past meetings
About the Society

Galleries of the Virtual Museum

Main Galleries

Medicine
Surgery
Anaesthesia
X-rays
Hospitals,other organisations
Individuals of note

Small Galleries

Dentistry
Nursing

Ethnic medicine
     - Aboriginal
     - Chinese
     - Mediterran

A History of Stethoscopes

The word stethoscope is derived from the two Greek words, stethos (chest) and scopos (examination). Apart from listening to the heart and chest sounds, it is also used to hear bowel sounds and blood flow noises in arteries and veins.

Rene-Theophile-Hyacinth Lannec appears to be the inventor of the stethoscope in 1816 when he used a wooden tube to listen to chest sounds. It was mono-aural and later models were made of metal and used to listen to foetal heart sounds. Some 20 years later a binaural model was developed using rubber tubes and ear pieces. Most devices had a bell shaped device used for low frequency sounds and a diaphragm which was more suited to higher pitched sounds.

These were often separate, but later in the 20th. century they were combined, ie two sided. A spring to press the ear pieces to the ears came later. In 1963 Dr. David Littmann patented a much improved version. It had a single short tube connected to a “two sided” stethoscope which bifurcated into the ear pieces. The physics seem to be based on vibrations which the chest and other noises produce. The bell receives the skin vibrations which produce acoustic pressure waves which are transmitted to the listener's ears. The diaphragm reduces the low pitched vibrations. About 10 years ago several types of electronic stethoscopes were introduced. This is similar to placing a microphone on the chest wall, but has circuits to reduce unwanted adventitial sounds.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The following stethoscopes and end pieces have been photographed with the kind permission of the owner, Dr. Richard Bowering .

Early monoaural wooden stethoscope.

Home made wooden stethoscopes

Home made wooden stethoscope.- note soft pad on the end placed next to the listener's ear.

A patented diaphragm biaural stethoscope & container

Container lid

A collection of “bell” type stethoscopes

A collection of combined “bell” and diaphragm stethoscopes

English combined stethoscope with a lever to change between bell & diaphragm

-o0o-