What Are Uses Of A Stethoscope?

A   stethoscope is a type of medical device, meant to listen to different sounds in the body. It was invented in 1816 by French doctor Rene Laennec.

Prior to the stethoscope, doctors used to place their ears against the body of patients to detect body sounds like heart beat. This was an uncomfortable proposition for female patients. Nowadays, nurses and doctors utilize stethoscopes to detect lung, bowel and heart sounds as well as to monitor blood pressure.

·         Heart sounds: When stethoscope is placed against the chest, many kinds of heart sounds are audible. For instance one can hear the sound of ventricles and atria contracting. Murmurs of heart due to abnormal functioning of heart valves can be detected.

·        Lung sounds: Lung sounds can be heard when stethoscope is placed on the chest or back. On taking a deep breath, one can hear the air entering the lung even while they expand. If crackles are heard, they indicate abnormalities in the lung, like fluid present in lungs. Wheezing will be heard if air passages are blocked.

·      Bowel sounds: Placing the stethoscope on the abdomen lets the doctor listen to the sounds of food and liquids, moving from the stomach to the intestines. In normal case, these are gurgles of low pitch which can be detected every 5 to 10 seconds. This may become more or less depending on the patient’s condition.

·    Measure blood pressure Stethoscopes are used along with sphygmomanometers to measure blood pressure. A cuff is wrapped around the arm and inflated and the stethoscope is used to measure pulse as cuff is deflated.

One can do stethoscope online shopping. Other types of stethoscopes are:

  · Electronic stethoscope: It is used to detect sounds in the body, not audible through conventionalstethoscopes. It amplifies sounds emanating from the body by electronic means. It can be a wireless, recording device and can grant noise reduction as well as signal enhancement.

   ·   Fetoscope: It has a different shape and is used to detect sounds coming from the foetus inside the mother. It is placed on the abdomen of pregnant women.

   ·  Doppler stethoscope: It is an electronic device that detects the Doppler effect of ultrasound waves emanating from body organs.

   ·  3D printed: It is a medical device that is open sourced, aimed at auscultation and created by 3D printing.

These are some facts about stethoscopes.