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On the history of medicine Hearing a murmur is always a challenge for new medical students. The day I heard a murmur for the first time was during my internal medicine. It was from a patient with rheumatic heart disease. I went on to hear a few more during my clinical practice. A stethoscope is used for this aspect of physical examination. It's the universal symbol of a doctor (I am wearing one on my profile picture🧑⚕️) The fun fact is that before the invention of a stethoscope, doctors used to listen to the chest and abdomen by placing their ears on the bare chest of the patient. It was until one day, when a short and intensely shy Laennec was faced with a young woman with heart disease, that he devised a paper roll to listen to the patient's chest. That was the first stethoscope. He went on to modify his invention and in 1819 he published "A Treatise on Diagnosis of Diseases of the Lungs and Heart Based Principally on the New Method of Investigation" Unfortunately, Lennec died at the tender age of 45 due to tuberculosis. He left his medical books and papers to his nephew, and as he put it in his will "above all, my stethoscope, which is the best part of my legacy." It's fascinating to know the origins of the instruments we use as doctors every day. Their humble beginnings show how far the science of medicine has come. Thanks to individuals like René Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec who made these great contributions. #historyofmedicine #doctors
