Laënnec ultimately discovered that this method allowed for louder and clearer heart sounds. He perfected the design for the instrument and ultimately decided on a hollow tube of wood that was fitted with a plug. The forerunner device was also made portable by having parts that could be disassembled. Not all doctors readily embraced the new stethoscope. Although the New England
Journal of Medicine reported the invention of the stethoscope two years later, in 1821, as late as 1885 a professor of medicine stated, "He that hath ears to hear, let him use his ears and not a stethoscope." Even the founder of the American Heart Association, L. A. Connor carried a silk handkerchief with him to place on the wall of the chest for ear auscultation.
Later, in 1819, Laënnec published the first seminal work on the use of listening to body sounds titled “De l’auscultation médiate ou Traité du Diagnostic des Maladies des Poumon et du Coeur.”
Furthermore, wooden stethoscopes were mainly used until rubber tubing was developed. Modifications were also made to the stethoscope over time. These include the binaural, the diaphragm, the combined bell and diaphragm, and also the electronic and differential (2 chest pieces) stethoscopes.
Journal of Medicine reported the invention of the stethoscope two years later, in 1821, as late as 1885 a professor of medicine stated, "He that hath ears to hear, let him use his ears and not a stethoscope." Even the founder of the American Heart Association, L. A. Connor carried a silk handkerchief with him to place on the wall of the chest for ear auscultation.
Later, in 1819, Laënnec published the first seminal work on the use of listening to body sounds titled “De l’auscultation médiate ou Traité du Diagnostic des Maladies des Poumon et du Coeur.”
Furthermore, wooden stethoscopes were mainly used until rubber tubing was developed. Modifications were also made to the stethoscope over time. These include the binaural, the diaphragm, the combined bell and diaphragm, and also the electronic and differential (2 chest pieces) stethoscopes.