Stethoscopes are totally awesome medical instruments. This is the main reason why they remain one of the most important medical instruments in the market today. Think about it, thanks to stethoscopes, doctors are now able to easily address all manner of medical issues. They can diagnose their patients with no problems at all.
Aside from their main purpose in making doctor’s lives easier, stethoscopes also have very interesting stories and trivia that those who are interested in the medical field will actually appreciate. Here are seven of those facts. It will surely astound and surprise you.
#1: The First Stethoscope Was a Rolled Up Tube
The first stethoscope came to be when a doctor was embarrassed to put his ear next to the ample bosoms of his female patient. Prior to stethoscopes putting one’s ear next to the chest to hear the heartbeat is the only way to listen to heartbeat before.
However, because he was too embarrassed to do it on a female patient, the doctor took a rolled up tube, placed one end on the woman’s chest and listened to the heartbeat on the other end. As such, the first stethoscope was born. After this discovery, more and more people started developing their own scopes and this eventually evolved to the current design that we enjoy today.
#2: It Was the First Effective Non Invasive Tool
During the time when the stethoscope was first discovered, many doctors were not confident with the effectiveness of non invasive tools. This is because the tools available were not very accurate. As such, doctors were unable to make intelligent diagnoses. However, thanks to the stethoscope, doctors were equipped to diagnose accurately all manner of ailments in and around the chest cavity.
#3: There Are Monoaural and Binaural Stethoscopes
There are two kinds of stethoscopes. The first stethoscopes are monoaural stethoscopes. This means it is only placed in one ear.
Unfortunately, these stethoscopes are really not that effective and they are inconvenient to use. As such, binaural stethoscopes came into being. This is the main reason why many doctors end up carrying a stethoscope around the hospital easily. The binaural design makes it easy to clamp on their necks when not in use. This means they will not be misplacing it at any time.
#4: Many Heart Related Illnesses Are Diagnosed By Stethoscopes
Stethoscopes are primarily used to diagnose heart related illnesses. The main purpose why the first stethoscope was invented was to listen to a patient’s heart. This is the main reason why stethoscopes are one of the most in use medical devices in the market today. As such, doctors just cannot live without a stethoscope.
Many medical students would start their first year practicing how to use a stethoscope. They will then be using the same stethoscope for the next few years even if they are already professional doctors.
#5: Many Upper Respiratory Illnesses Are Diagnosed By Stethoscopes
Aside from heart diseases, a stethoscope is also perfect for diagnosing a variety of upper respiratory diseases. This is because stethoscopes can be used to listen to a patient’s breathing. This is very important especially for doctors who specialize in upper respiratory diseases.
#6: Stethoscopes Have Different Diaphragms to Listen To High Pitch And Low Pitched Body Sounds
Stethoscopes are now designed to be easily tunable to all kinds of body sounds. Most stethoscopes come with two diaphragms.
The said design will ensure that if you need a high pitched sound, you can use one side of the diaphragm. If you need a low pitched sound, then you can use the other side. This is very important especially for accurate diagnoses.
#7: Stethoscopes Are Sanitized Via UV Light
Stethoscopes pick up a lot of germs. This is why it is very important that doctors sanitize their stethoscopes after every patient examination.
It is a good thing that they can easily do this by exposing their stethoscopes to a UV light. UV light kills all germs and bacteria. This is the main reason why many hospitals keep a special UV chamber for sanitizing stethoscopes.
Generally speaking, stethoscopes are amazing medical instruments. Are you looking for good unit? You can check out our various stethoscope reviews to see which unit will be best to buy.