Stethoscope - Over 200 years

The stethoscope: celebration or cremation after 200 years?

The stethoscope is currently at the crossroads. For two centuries now, the stethoscope has been a central part of examining the thorax. Nevertheless, this omnipresent tool of the medical profession (‘conversation piece’) is at the heart of the debate over how diagnostic medicine should be practised. At the moment, there are many divergent views on the value of using the stethoscope as a primary...

Discovering new facts and revealing existing myths about the acoustic stethoscope 200 years after its invention

Acoustic stethoscope, invented exactly 200 years ago by French physician, Rene Laennec, is the most widespread medical diagnostic device, and also the icon of the medical profession. Hence, it might seem strange, that the mechanisms and physical phenomena underlying the auscultation examination are still not well understood, and some of the commonly repeated statements – such as those regarding...

The Stethoscope at the Age of 200: Will "He" Survive?

Hazard! Health in the workplace over 200 years.

Occupational medicine and specialist health and safety practice in the 21st century are changing rapidly. ‘Modern’ occupational diseases—psychological stress, non-specific musculoskeletal disorders, the subtle psycho-social interactions between motivation and perception of disability— absorb most of our time and professional energy. It is easy to forget that the workplace hazards that were fami...

Recent global sea level acceleration started over 200 years ago?

[1] We present a reconstruction of global sea level (GSL) since 1700 calculated from tide gauge records and analyse the evolution of global sea level acceleration during the past 300 years. We provide observational evidence that sea level acceleration up to the present has been about 0.01 mm/yr and appears to have started at the end of the 18th century. Sea level rose by 6 cm during the 19th ce...