Laennec followed up the idea, so readily suggested by this, of listening to the sounds produced within the chest and, after twelve years of careful study and observation, laid the foundation of the modern knowledge of diseases of the chest.
Laennec published his book on the subject in 1819, with the modest motto in Greek "the most important part of an art is to be able to observe properly." Prof.
Austin Flint in his lecture on Laennec said: "Laennec's life affords a striking instance among others disproving the vulgar error that the pursuit of science is unfavourable to religious faith." He was one of the greatest clinical students of medicine of the nineteenth century.
www.newadvent.org /cathen/08737b.htm (687 words)
Amazon.fr : To See With a Better Eye: A Life of R.T.H. Laennec: Livres en anglais: Jacalyn Duffin(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-20)
ReneTheophileHyacintheLaennec was born in Brittany in 1781 into a family in modest circumstances.
Laennec made the remarkable discovery of indirect auscultation, using at first a paper tube and later a wooden cylinder, in 1817, and the first edition of his treatise on the subject was published in 1819.
Although Laennec was famous for his primary role in auscultation, Duffin does not limit her discussion to this area but also writes extensively on his early interest in pathology and his final preoccupation with the composition and function of three components of the body: a solid, a liquid, and a vital principle.
René Théophile HyacintheLaennec, known as the father of modern knowledge of pulmonary disease, is considered by many as one of the greatest clinicians of all time.
Laennec improved upon this method by placing his ear directly on the patient's chest to identify and differentiate between healthy and unhealthy sounds of the heart and respiratory system.
Laennec was an intensely religious man and devout Catholic, well known for his charity to the poor, highly respected for his extreme kindness, beloved by students and colleagues.
Laennec was embarrassed to place his ear to her chest (Immediate Auscultation), which was the method of auscultation used by physicians at that time.
This second version is illustrated in Laennec's second edition text on auscultation published in 1826, which described the stethoscope as having an overall length of 12 inches and a diameter of 1.5 inches.
Laennec's friend Jacques-Alexandre Lejumeau de Kergaradec was the first doctor to use the stethoscope for fetal auscultation and this technique was discussed by Laennec in his second edtion text on ausculataion.
Laennec later replaced the rolled paper with a wooden tube (similar in appearance to a candlestick) which was called "stethoscope" from the Greek words "stethos" (chest) and "skopein" (to look at).
There were no significant developments to Laennec’s device over the next decade or so, apart from the fact that Pierre Adolph Piory, a pupil of Laennec, refined the original device with the provision of a large flat or concave ear piece to cover the external ear, (which exists to this day as a Foetoscope).
About one year later in 1829, Dr. Charles Williams improved the original Laennecstethoscope by dividing the instrument into two parts, manufacturing it from gutta percha with a joint that permitted it to be twisted at various angles.
JEFFLINE Forum - February-March 2001(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-20)
The inventor of the stethoscope, ReneTheophileHyacintheLaennec (1781-1826) was born at Quimper, Brittany on February 17, 1781.
Laennec studied medicine at the L'Hotel Dieu (Nantes) as well as at the L'Ecole de Medecine (Paris) with Jean Nicholas Corvisart.
Although Laennec's life and career were short, his dedication to medicine and his willingness to share his ideas and methods with his colleagues in France and abroad includes his name among the greatest physicians of all time.
Laennec's friendJacques-Alexandre Lejumeau de Kergaradec was the first doctorto use the stethoscope for fetal auscultation and this technique was discussed by Laennec in his second edtion text on ausculataion.
The stethoscope was invented by ReneTheophileHyacintheLaennec in 1816 and has become the symbol by which the modern physician is recognised.
In Laennec's words: "Direct auscultation was as uncomfortable for the doctor as it was for the patient, disgust in itself making it impracticable in hospitals.
History & Background(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-20)
Rene' TheophileHyacintheLaennec (1781-1826), developed the stethoscope in the early 1800's, and documented his auscultative findings from patients within his practice.
To avoid confusion when incorporating Laennec's nomenclature, terms such as breath sounds and crackles should be used instead of the term rales.
The inventor of the stethoscope, Dr. ReneLaennec, coined the term rales to mean a specific abnormal breath sound.
RenEThEophileHyacinthe LaEnnec[runA´ tAOfEl´ yAsaNt´ lAAnek´] Pronunciation Key, 1781–1826, French physician.
While connected with the Necker Hospital in Paris he invented the stethoscope, which he described, together with the symptoms he had noted through its use, in his classic book De l'auscultation mEdiate (2 vol.
Mayo Medical Library - Mayo Hall Historical Exhibit(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-20)
RENÉ THÉOPHILE HYACINTHELAENNEC (1781-1826) was born at Quimper in Brittany, France.
He studied medicine first with an uncle at Nantes, and then went to Paris where he became a pupil of Corvisart and received his medical degree in 1804.
With the work of Laennec modern clinical medicine begins.
