Simple questions: what is the "hearing" of doctors called?

Today, physicians, in order to diagnose a patient, can resort to a variety of laboratory tests and other diagnostic options. Unfortunately, even 100 years ago, doctors did not have a tenth of those devices that they can use now. However, as early as the beginning of the 19th century a special tube appeared to listen to the heart and breathing of the patient. However, then very few people knew what the "hearing" of doctors is called, and the principle of its work is understandable. But this simple device in some cases helps the doctor to determine exactly what the patient is worried about.

History of creation

For the first time in 1816, the French physician Rene Laennek decided to use something similar to a modern phonendoscope when examining a noble lady. As he later recalled, because of the age, sex and fullness of the woman, he could not accurately diagnose. The simple application of the ear to the chest gave no results. Then Лаэннек has decided simply to curtail into a tube sheets of a paper. It helped him to determine her cardiac arrhythmia.

In the future, folded sheets of paper replaced the tube, narrow in the middle and having extensions from both ends. In this case, one of them is wider and repeats the shape of the ear. This allows doctors to hear more clearly the noises in the lungs and the heart sounds. A stethoscope - that's what they call "listening" to doctors of those times. The phonendoscope got its own modern look, like the name, closer to the 20th century. One of the first to use it for diagnosis was the outstanding Russian surgeon Nikolai Sergeyevich Korotkov.

The device of a modern phonendoscope

The phonendoscope, the photo of which is located above, has 3 main parts: a head with a membrane, which amplifies sounds, a sound-conducting tube and olive-tips for the doctor's ears. Its main advantage is that, unlike a stethoscope, it allows you to listen to higher frequencies, which makes it irreplaceable in pulmonology. However, for a more accurate diagnosis, doctors need to listen to low-frequency sounds. Therefore, later appeared an instrument that combines the properties of both devices. On one side of the tip there is a membrane, but on the other hand - no. Thus, the correct answer to the question of what is called "listening" to doctors is a stethophonendoscope. Although even doctors themselves use this term rarely, reducing it to the more familiar - phonendoscope.

Application of stetho- and phonendoscope

All 3 devices are used by physicians to this day. Depending on the situation, each of them makes it possible to identify various diseases in patients. So, the stethoscope is used to listen to the fetal heartbeat. Despite its simplicity, this is the most reliable and safe way to check the state of health of the baby's future. But no pulmonologist, therapist and pediatrician can not do without a stethophonendoscope, since they should be the first to diagnose. In cardiology, a mechanical tonometer with a phonendoscope is widely used, which helps not only to listen to the heart sounds, but also to measure blood pressure.

In fact, for an average patient, it is not so important to know what is called a "listener" from doctors. The main thing is that this simple device has been helping doctors in their work for 100 years. So, during this time, many people were able to receive the necessary and timely treatment. This is much more important than knowing any terms.