Piorry-type stethoscope and percussor, c. 1830
On application
Piorry-type ebony monaural stethoscope with two bone ends and ebony percussor of c. 1830.
French physician René Théophile Laennec (1781-1826) invented the stethoscope in 1816. Stethoscopes listen to the sounds of the body’s operation. These sounds are indicators of the body’s functioning. The heart is usually listened to. However, the lungs and intestines also reveal characteristic sounds.
The original design was made of wood and brass. It consisted of a single hollow tube. This early adaptation is by Pierre Adolphe Piorry (1794-1879) from 1829. It is trumpet-shaped and made of wood. It was thinner and lighter than its forerunner. It kept to a single ivory earpiece used by Laennec and a chest piece. See the Wellcome collection for an overview of this type of stethoscopes.
Diameter: 4.6 cm, Height: 18.5 cm.
