Laennec monaural stethoscope in ash wood
On application
In 1816, the French physician Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laënnec (1781–1826) invented the stethoscope. Using this new instrument, he investigated the sounds made by the heart and lungs and determined that his diagnoses were supported by the observations made during autopsies. He was inspired to do so because of contemporary feelings of embarrassment. Laënnec was reluctant to start immediate auscultation (placing the doctor’s ear on the patient’s chest) because of the age, sex and plumpness of the patient.
After careful experimenting, Laënnec decided upon a hollow tube of wood, 3.5 cm in diameter and 25 cm long, which was the forerunner of the modern stethoscope. His instrument was fitted with a plug when used to listen to the heart and to make it portable, was made in parts that could be disassembled.
See the Wellcome collection for an overview of this type of stethoscopes.
Height: 21,2 cm, diameter: 3,1 cm.
