René Laennec
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René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec was a French medical doctor and musician. His skill at carving his own wooden flutes led him to invent the stethoscope in 1816, while working at the Hôpital Necker. He
Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec
The first drawing of a stethoscope (1819)
One of the original stethoscopes belonging to Rene Theophile Laennec made of wood and brass
Laennec auscultates a patient before his students
Stethoscope
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The stethoscope is a medical device for auscultation, or listening to internal sounds of an animal or human body. It typically has a small disc-shaped resonator that is placed against the naked skin,
René Laennec
…French: ; 17 February 1781 – 13 August 1826) was a French medical doctor and musician. His skill at carving his own wooden flutes led him to invent the stethoscope in 1816, while working at the Hôpital Necker. He pioneered its use in diagnosing various chest conditions. He became a lecturer at the Collège de France…
Early stethoscopes
A Traube-type stethoscope in ivory
Early flexible tube stethoscopes. Golding Bird's instrument is on the left. The instrument on the right is the stethophone.