Stethoscope Research Paper

Over the course of the medical field, there have been many advances to improve the overall quality and accuracy of medical procedures practiced on patients. Reflecting on the major inventions of the medical field, usually the first to come to my mind is the well-known stethoscope. This invention changed the course of not just the medical field, but changed the course of athletic training. René Laennec was a French physician who was responsible for inventing the stethoscope in 1816. René Laennec was not directly involved in my field of Athletic Training, but nonetheless had a pronounced impact in how the stethoscope was utilized in Athletic Training. René Laennec was born on February 17,1781 in Brittany, France. Having suffered from many health problems of his own, Laennec, at the age of twelve, went to …show more content…
This invention allowed doctors to more accurately record data from the heart and lungs of patients. The stethoscope was invented by Laennec in 1816 after three years of changing the design and material of the instrument. Laennec described his finding of the stethoscope by saying “It occurred to me that this physical property might serve a useful purpose in the case I was dealing with. I then tightly rolled a sheet of paper, one end of which I placed over the precordium (chest) and my ear to the other. I was surprised and elated to be able to hear the beating of her heart with far greater clearness than I ever had with direct application of my ear” (Rogiun, 1). The original stethoscope was vastly different then todays stethoscope. The design consisted of a wooden hollow tube instead of the rubber and plastic materials we see today. However, despite the alterations made to the stethoscope the purpose remained the same. Laennec was able to discover and analyze various lung and heart diseases in a way no other physician had been able to