Modern Technology in Respiratory Medicine: Lung Ultrasonography–Is it Time for the Stethoscope to Give Up its Throne?

Abstract

The year 2016 marks the 200th anniversary of the invention of the stethoscope by Dr. Réne Théophile Hyacinthe Laennec. He was first inspired in September 1816 when he observed 2 children playing with a long piece of solid wood and a pin. He later made the very first stethoscope when he rolled a paper to listen to the heart sounds of a young woman. He further refined the instrument by constructing it with a hollow tube of wood.