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Stethoscope that ―Seth made‖ Cont.
If you came across a stethoscope during that era, it most likely used would have had “no” real
mechanically engineered hardware. These devices existed in practice from 1860 to 1998, which is a
more modern style device that physicians still use today. The heavy use of this instrument had become a reason for discoveries of better descriptions of heart sounds as well as the improved ability
to distinguish among various murmurs and rhythmic disturbances since electrocardiographs were
not introduced to the U.S. until 1909.
These devices increased understanding of how blood moves through the heart in each cardiac
cycle, under normal and abnormal conditions. Oftentimes, you may hear these devices referred to
as sphygmomanometers. In 1905, Russian surgeon Nikolai Korotkoff developed the modern technique of using a stethoscope to listen for the sounds of blood flowing through the artery. His method
proved to be extremely accurate that also led to the discovery of hypertension.
Now, to finish to my story…
The on-call pediatrician was very cordial and also very informative as he explained the theory on
how to take a blood pressure, based on Korotkoff sounds. Later that night, my family left feeling a
better knowing that our child was going to be okay but most importantly we felt that she had learned
something anew, like a giant light bulb just went off. Honestly, I think a big juicy lollipop probably had
something more to do with it but it is the thought that counts.
In fact, we were having such a great time that I did not have the heart to actually tell him that it
was actually Rene Theophile-Hyacinthe Laennec who invented the stethoscope and not a man
named ―Seth.‖ Hopefully, he is reading this article and now he knows the truth. Thank you for being
so caring!
References:
1. "Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "History of Stethoscopes and Sphygmomanometers.” Accessdate http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/museum/exhibit98/content/b6_17info.html
2. Wikipedia. “Biography: René Laennec.” Accessdate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%
A9_Laennec