When Propriety Sparks Innovation: The Invention of the Stethoscope

Blogger: Amber Lemus

Hello friends, and welcome back to the HHH blog. Today I've got a fun story and historical tidbit to share with you.

Dr. Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec
Public Domain

The stethoscope is probably the only instrument that is common to all doctors. In fact, some say it has even surpassed the caduceus symbol as the universal icon of doctors and medical care. However, I had never fully understood the significance of the instrument and the impact that it made on the medical profession until I studied for this post.

The part of the story that sparked my interest was the way in which the innovation came about. Prior to 1816, doctors could only detect a patient's heartbeat by either holding a hand over the patient's heart, or placing their ear to the patient's chest and listening intently for a few moments. As you can imagine, this was probably not terribly efficient. However another problem arose for a young, single, French physician who was called upon to see a young woman who was displaying symptoms of heart disease. When 35 year old Dr. Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laënnec arrived, he realized that the age, sex and "plumpness" of the young lady would make propriety an issue for him to use the traditional methods of examination. It didn't seem appropriate to feel for the heartbeat with his hand, or press his ear to her chest to listen for it. Instead, he came up with another idea. He described the encounter as follows:

I recalled a well known acoustic phenomenon: if you place your ear against one end of a wood beam the scratch of a pin at the other end is distinctly audible. It occurred to me that this physical property might serve a useful purpose in the case I was dealing with. I then tightly rolled a sheet of paper, one end of which I placed over the precordium (chest) and my ear to the other. I was surprised and elated to be able to hear the beating of her heart with far greater clearness than I ever had with direct application of my ear. I immediately saw that this might become an indispensable method for studying, not only the beating of the heart, but all movements able of producing sound in the chest cavity. ~Translated from French by John Forbes, 1834

This discovery was a breakthrough for Laënnec, because not only had the simple device worked, it had projected the sound and made it clearer than direct auscultation alone. Laënnec spent the next three years experimenting with different materials and perfecting his design. Not only did he listen to heartbeats, but he could also listen more easily to other body sounds such as the raspy lungs of a patient with pneumonia.

Below is the design he came up with. It involved a hollow wooden dowel about 3.5cm in diameter and about 25cm long. The dowel was then fitted with a plug to listen to the patient, which could be detached to make it more portable. 

 

Drawing of Laennec's Stethoscope
Public Domain

Because Laënnec did clinic work, he was able to listen to patients at the bedside, and then follow them to the autopsy table, if they unfortunately didn't make it, and determine what he was hearing inside of their heart or lungs. And he was actually able to learn and identify conditions this way. For example, Laënnec could more clearly identify Tuberculosis using his new stethoscope and learning the differences between typical and atypical lung sounds. He was also able to classify and discuss new terms such as crepitence, rales, rhonchi and egophony. Laënnec presented his findings to the French Academy of Sciences, and in 1819 published his work in a book entitled Mediated Auscultation.

As for Laënnec's invention of the stethoscope, it quickly gained popularity as his book spread across the world and was translated into different languages. As it caught on, the original model was used until the others piggy-backed on his idea and improved it into what we know as the stethoscope today.

Laënnec had a very successful career and served so many during his lifetime. He did marry, however only a few years after his marriage, he died at only 45 years old on August 13, 1826. It is said that his beloved nephew, Mériadec, held the stethoscope for the renowned doctor to hear his own chest. The sounds were all too familiar. Tuberculosis. The same illness that had claimed his mother when he was 5, and then his uncle who had raised him. Before he passed, Laënnec, having no children of his own, bequeathed his scientific papers, his watch, his ring, and his beloved stethoscope which he believed to be the greatest part of his legacy, to his nephew.

The Stethoscope that belonged to Dr. Laennec
Used under CC
Science Museum London / Science and Society Picture Library

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Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction, Amber Lemus inspires hearts through enthralling tales She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".

She lives near the Ozarks in her "casita" with her prince charming. Between enjoying life as a boy mom, and spinning stories out of soap bubbles, Amber loves to connect with readers and hang out on Goodreads with other bookish peoples.

Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at http://www.amberlemus.com/ and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!

How Clumsiness and Boy Scouts made the Band-Aid

Blogger: Amber Lemus

Earle Dickson as a young man
Johnson & Johnson Archives
Used under Fair Use

I love reading about inventions because the stories are always entertaining. Either it was a funny accident, an inspirational story of perseverance, or an ingenious solution to a problem most people skim over. For example, did you know the Band-Aid was invented for a woman who was clumsy, especially in the kitchen?

Earle Dickson was born October 10, 1892 in Grandview, Tennessee. In 1917, Earle married Josephine Frances Knight. He was working at the Johnson and Johnson company as a cotton buyer, while his wife stayed at home keeping house. However, he quickly discovered that dear Josephine was constantly burning her fingers, nicking them with knives, or having some type of mishap around the house. She must have complained to him about the difficulty of bandaging up those minor wounds by herself while she was at home alone everyday, because he quickly came up with a solution.

Earle took a patch of gauze and affixed it to the center of surgical tape. He then used a band of crinoline to keep the tape from sticking to itself. What resulted was an easy-to-use bandage that his wife could easily use by herself to cover those injuries and prevent infection or further tearing of the skin. It worked wonderfully.

When Earle went back to work at Johnson and Johnson, he mentioned his solution to a coworker, who thought it was genius. The coworker encouraged him to take the idea to management and see if they would be interested in it. Initially, the managers at J&J were not impressed, but when Earle demonstrated that he could apply the bandage by himself to his own wounds, they saw that as a great feature. His supervisor told one of the Johnson brothers about the idea, who decided to adopt it and released the product to the public in 1921 under the brand of the Band-Aid. 

Early Ad for the Band-Aid
Johnson & Johnson Archives
Used under Fair Use

During this time, Johnson and Johnson were already successful producers of gauze and bandages for hospitals as well as military installations, so they had a built in market for this new product. Still, the first launch of the product was mostly a flop. Only $3,000 worth of the product was sold during the first year of production. Some believe that the reason it didn't initially take off was because the first versions of the Band-Aid were 2.5 inches wide by 18 inches long. The idea was that you could cut off whatever length of bandage you required for your injury.

Sales remained low, until someone came up with the idea of providing free, unlimited Band-Aids to the Boy Scout troops across the country. With the Boy Scouts using them, they became widely known and the demand for the Band-Aid soared.

In 1924, the Johnson and Johnson company started pre-cutting the Band-Aids into select sizes. Then in 1939, they began producing them as fully-sterilized bandages, just in time for WWII.

As for Earle Dickson, he was promoted for his invention and climbed to the rank of Vice President of the Johnson and Johnson company. He also became a member of the board, where he remained until his death in 1961, at which time the company was producing more than 30 million dollars worth of Band-Aids per year.

Today, more than 100 Billion Band-Aides have been produced and they have become one of the worlds most iconic and innovative products.

In recognition of his invention, Earle Dickson was inducted into the Inventor's Hall of Fame in 2017.

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Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction, Amber Lemus inspires hearts through enthralling tales She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".

She lives near the Ozarks in her "casita" with her prince charming. Between enjoying life as a boy mom, and spinning stories out of soap bubbles, Amber loves to connect with readers and hang out on Goodreads with other bookish peoples.

Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at http://www.amberlemus.com/ and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!