"Laennec's Le Cylindre"

Nothing quite conjures the image of doctor like a white coat brimming with reflex hammers, pen lights, and other paraphernalia, while a stethoscope is draped casually about the neck.  Since Laennec first put a piece of paper rolled into a cone to his ear to aid in the auscultation of his patient's heart sounds, various medical instruments have become an essential part of the physical exam.  

This section provides articles primarily on the acoustic qualities and parameters of the ideal stethoscope.  The interested learner will also find videos detailing the proper use of the instruments of physical diagnosis from the ophthalmoscope to the reflex hammer.

Click to Access the Following PDFs:

1: Acoustical performance of the stethoscope: a compartive analysis

2: Comparative efficiency of stethoscopes

3: The effect of stethoscope-applied pressure in auscultation: a new instrument for improving discrimination

4: A history of cardiac auscultation and some of its contributors

5: Physiologic and physical laws that govern auscultation, and their clinical application: the acoustic stethoscope and the electrical amplifying stethoscope and stethograph

6: Which stethoscope?

7: Stethoscope acoustics II. Transmission and filtration patterns

Bates' Visual Guide to Physical Examination, Volume 7.5: Ophthalmoscope - Examining the Eyes

Bates' Visual Guide to Physical Examination, Volume 7.7: Otoscope - Examining the Ears

Stanford Medicine 25: Reflex Hammer