Who invented the original acoustic stethoscope in 1816?
Answer
René Laennec
René Laennec is credited with the genesis of listening to internal body sounds through the invention of the original acoustic stethoscope in the year 1816. This foundational instrument was necessitated because direct chest-to-ear examination methods were considered inappropriate by the medical standards of the time. Laennec’s initial design was a simple, purely mechanical wooden tube. Its primary function was to establish the principle of conducting sound from the body surface to the physician's ear using a hollow structure, allowing for clearer hearing of internal bodily sounds than was previously possible before this innovation.
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