Google Doodle Celebrates Stethoscope

Google has created a doodle to celebrate the 235th birth anniversary of French physician Rene Laennec. He was the man behind the invention of stethoscope.

The doodle shows the letter ‘O’ as a pair of human lungs and two doctors are using first prototype and the modern version of stethoscope.

Laennec felt it was improper to place his ear on the chest of a woman to listen her heartbeats at the time of examining a heart problem. So, taking inspiration from a simple game, he rolled a paper and pressed it to his patient’s chest. He was now able to hear the heartbeats loud and clear. This led to the invention of the first prototype, which was a wooden tube with a diameter of 25cm.

Stethoscope considered to be the hallmark of doctors has undergone various changes over the years.

Along with this, Laennec is also known as the father of clinical auscultation. He also wrote the first description of bronchiectasis and cirrhosis. He also classified pulmonary conditions such as pleurisy, bronchiectasis emphysema, pneumothorax, pneumonia, phthisis and other lung diseases with the help of the sounds he heard using the stethoscope.

Laennec died of tuberculosis in 1826.