 "Littmann stethoscopes" is one of world famous trademarks
Added: 10/05/2005 |
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There are many different companies that make a wide range of products for ausculation purposes. But there are several companies and trademarks that can stand out. One of the most renowned is 3M with their "littmann stethoscopes". Thanks to the excellent quality these stethoscopes have come into a wide use in many countries all over the world.
In modern medicine, the stethoscope can be considered a symbol of a doctor, as it is really hard to imagine a modern physician office without a stethoscope. It is an instrument that plays a vital role in everyday medical practice. But, in fact, the history of stethoscopes and the ausculation technology is not so long and prominent (as compared to the history of medicine in general).
The very first stethoscope was invented in 1816 by a young French doctor Laennec. It was the result of an unabated yearning for comfort and convenience. Laennec was a little embarrassed to place his ear on his patient's chest to listen to the sounds of the heart and lungs. So, he came up with an idea to use a tube and he put this tube to a patient's chest and his ear to another end of the tube.
Probably, it was not the very first stethoscope and many doctors were using a similar technique at the time, but Laennec went beyond a simple tube. At his home shop he made several different models of a simple stethoscope to improve the sound. In 1819 he even published a whole treatise dedicated to his invention and ausculation. In that very first work on the stethoscope he introduced a vast amount of different terms that are in use till modern days.
After Laennec there were many specialists, who have tried to improve the Laennec's model of stethoscope. The stethoscope that feels patients' chests at every modern-day hospital looks a little bit different, but it works according to the same principle as Laennec's simple stethoscope. It consists of two chest pieces and a shallow bell (low frequency sounds are transmitted more efficiently with it) or a diaphragm (it transmits high frequency and sounds better). All these parts are interconnected by some sort of flexible material (tubing made of this material is believed to transmit sound very well).
On the medical market, there are a great number of companies that produce different kinds of stethoscopes. One of the players there is 3M group, which is on everybody's lips, or - more relevantly - chests, with its trademark "littmann stethoscopes". Being very effective and durable, these stethoscopes, an embodiment of high quality, have become a personal choice of many doctors from all the continents. Most of the medical students when mentioning stethoscopes refer to "littmann stethoscopes".
As littmann stethoscopes are rather expensive, they are rarely used in medicine classes. But still you can find a way: there are special websites that offer littmann stethoscopes and many other high-quality products of 3M group at more affordable prices. Besides, to learn the basics of ausculation technology a pretty simple stethoscope will do fine.
The technology these days has stepped further: today elaborate electronic stethoscopes are available and gaining the market. With these devices a higher sound quality can be achieved and such a stethoscope can be easily tuned for different purposes that everyday medical practice is called to serve.
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