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A unique Leyton Differential Stethoscope, circa 1918. Dr. O. Leyton based its design on the differential stethoscopes developed by H. Bock and M. Y. Oertel. The differential stethoscope was used to determine the relative intensities of heart sounds. The screw mechanism could be adjusted to allow for greater or lesser transmission of sound through the chamber and therefore record the intensity of sound. The stethoscope head shown on the two photos to the left was sold either separately or with binaural earpieces. The photos on the right show the original box that contained the stethoscope head and article with a description of the construction of the stethoscope and instructions on how to use the differential stethoscope.

 

William J. Kerr, M.D. was appointed the first full-time Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine in 1927. He received his medical training at Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1915. Dr. Kerr's special interest was cardiolgy, in particular the use of instruments to aid the precise diagnosis of cardiovasular diseases. In 1937, he described "a modified stethoscope for the lateralization and comparison of sound" in the American Heart Journal and received a patent for his symballophone in 1940. In 1950, the Board of Regents released plans to build a new 12 story hospital and medical sciences building on the UCSF site overlooking Golden Gate Bridge. The cross shaped hospital was designed by architects Timothy and Milton T. Pfluger and named after the former Dean of the medical school, Herbert C. Moffit. Dr. Kerr convinced the California legislature to add funding for an additional 13th floor in the new hospital buiding to be held as a shell floor for future cardiovascular research. Thus when National Heart Institute funding became available, UCSF had available space and under Dr. Kerr's guidance a Cardiovascular Board dedicated itself to the creation of the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) on this floor. The floor plan of the 13th floor allowed multiple departments to work together as a single unit and established the importance of interdisciplinary research in medicne.
                                       


                         

William J. Kerr, M.D., circa 1940. The Moffit Hospital (left) and Medical Sciences Buidling (right) architectural plans by Pfluger in 1950 in the photo on the left. On the right is a photo of the document describing the use of the symballaphone that came with each stethoscope.
                          

                                                  

The Kerr Symballophone was very similar to Alison's differential model, but used two diaphragm chestpieces rather than bell chestpieces. In addition, sounds from either chest piece could be heard in both ears so that the examiner could compare sounds emanating from differnt parts of the chest. On the right is the Kerr Symballophone, circa 1940. Note the metal chest pieces and close-up of the double-looping tube connections of the binaural earpieces, such that each ear could hear the sound from either chestpiece. On the left is an example of the Symballophone, circa 1950s. Note that the chest pieces are now made of light weight bakelike instead of metal and that the rubber tubes are very long, presumably so that disparate parts of the chest could be auscultated and compared. The close ups show the leather case that contained this Symballophone. The stethoscope was used by Dr. Willaim Faulkner (1896-1976), a thorarcic surgeon who was at UCSF during the tenure of Dr. Kerr's leadership of the UCSF Department of Medicine.

 
The bell chest piece was very good for hearing the low-pitched sounds of the chest, however, there was the need to hear higher pitched sounds during auscultation. The diaphragm chest piece employed a membrane over the bell that allowed the higher pitched sounds to come through but blocked out the lower ones. It started to be used around 1900 and became a standard part ofthe modern stethoscope. The earliest models were designed to function as a small phonendoscope and came in a pouch for easy portability.


           

The early diaphragm models resembled the older bell models but had a rigid membrane covrering the bell. These micro-phonendoscopes were very popular in Europe in the early part of the 20th century. On the left is an Oertel model signed F. Davidson, London, circa 1905. The entire stethoscope is made of metal, including the flexible metal tubes, and came in a leather pouch. On the right is a similar Oertel design, but with rubber tubes attaching the ear pieces to the chest piece. It came in a canvas pouch, circa 1900.

                        

This Oertel model stethoscope was used in the 1920s by the Dutch physician L.M.S. Lekkerkerker-De Jong in Hilversum, Holland. This same physician's card is shown on the left and the photo on right is a European physician from that period with an Oertel model stethoscope draped around her neck. Note in the photo that the Oertel has flexible ear pieces, while Dr. Lekkerkerker's Oertel has a folding binaural metal earpiece and the metal chestpiece has an anti-chill rubber cushion but not a diaphragm.

The practical diaphragm stethoscope was developed and patented by Dr. Robert C.M. Bowles in 1894. The original version had a flat diaphragm chest piece that could be used with or without a short rod that screwed into the diaphragm in order to localize heart sounds. The chest piece could be connected to a typical Cammann type binaural ear piece or, alternatively, could simply be used by applying the ear directly to the hollow opening of the chest piece. Early versions of his stethoscope had only the diaphragm chest piece, but later models had both a bell and diaphragm interchangeable in the same chest piece, which was usually referred to as a combination stethoscope. The sole manufacturer of the Bowles stethoscopes in America during the first half of the 20th century was George P. Pilling Son Co. of Philadelphia.
The Bowles combination stethoscope with a diaphragm chest piece which was intended to be used interchangeably with a Ford chest piece was patented in 1902. This was the first type of combination bell and diaphragm stethoscope.


                                           

The photos shown above on the left are the Pilling version of this stethoscope, circa 1910. The stethoscope is displayed with the Bowles diaphragm chest piece separate from the Albion Ford chest piece and with the Bowles diaphragm chest piece inserted by a Bloomfield connector into the Ford bell, converting the stethoscope to a Bowles diaphragm model. The photos shown on the right are the Klagges model of this stethoscope, circa 1940. The stethoscope has plastic Ford bell and Bowles diaphragm chest pieces displayed in the same manner as the photos on the left. Note the metal cover that is clipped onto the Bowles chest piece to protect the plastic diaphragm when it is not in use for auscultation.

                                                    

Examples of the Bowles stethoscope are shown above from left to right: Bowles Flat Iron Stethoscope in original wood box, circa 1898; Bowles Stethoscope in original wood box, large size, circa 1901; Bowles Stethoscope in original cardboard box, medium size, circa 1909; Bowles Stethoscope with extra hard rubber bell (with connector inserted into the bell) in its original wood box, circa 1915; Bowles Stethoscope in original cardboard box, circa 1930.

 

                              

The Bowles chest piece was designed with concentric circular grooves to enhance transmission of sound from the diaphragm into the tube connecting to the ear piece. Shown above starting from the left is the chest piece with 1. metal protective cover clipped on, 2. plastic diaphragm in place and 3. plastic diaphragm removed to reveal the grooves. In the middle photo is a rare sales sample Bowles stethoscope in its original wood box that was probably made for an Atlantic City medical meeting (note the label on the top half of the box) in June 1909. The box is 5.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. The sample bowles stethoscope is only 5 inches long. Bowles diaphragm chest pieces came in midget, small, medium and large sizes and with one or two connection tubes. Shown above on the right are the midget two tube, medium (regular) two tube and large one tube size chest pieces .

 

               

A Pilling Special Bowles Patent stethoscope with original rubber tubing, circa 1901. The stethoscope belonged to Dr. William F. Muhlenberg, a direct descendent of Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, the founder of the Lutheran Church in America and the father of one of George Washington's revolutionary war Generals, John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg who served with him at Valley Forge. Dr. Muhlenberg was born in 1852 in Gettysberg, PA, attended Muhlenberg College and recieved his medical degree from the Unniuversity of Pennsylvania in 1872. He was a prominent surgeon who practiced in Reading, PA and was on the staff of Reading Hospital. Dr. Muhlenberg served as President of the Berks County Medical Society in 1883. He died in 1915 from Myocarditis in Reading. This stethoscope was kept by Dr. Muhlenberg's son, Heister H. Muhlenberg, and came from the estate of Dr. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg of Berks County, PA.

                                                       

From left to right are: Pilling Bracelet Stethoscope with metallic band for the arm and diaphragm button to facilitate measuring blood pressure, circa 1920; Early Sprague-Bowles Stethoscope incorpoarting the Ford bell and Bowles diaphragm into one chest piece with lever to switch between the two and Herschel clamp to adjust ear piece tension, circa 1926; Sprague-Bowles Stethoscope with a typical lever-valve to switch between the Ford bell and Bolwes diaphragm chest piece in original box, circa 1929; Rieger-Bowles Stethoscope with an improved lever-valve to switch between Ford bell and Bowles diaphragm chest piece, circa 1932; Rieger-Bowles Stethoscope with folding earpiece in original cardboard box, circa 1950.

 

                                                                

From left to right are: Kehler Stethoscope in original mahogany box, circa 1897; Kehler Improved Stethoscope with original cloth case, circa 1901; Fleischer Triple Head Stethoscope in original cardboard box and with cloth case, circa 1940; Fleischer Stethoscope with localizing rod screwed into the diaphragm, circa 1950; Meredith Swivel Stethoscope with faux tortoise shell diaphragm and bell, circa 1930.

                               

                                                   

From left to right are: Phonophore Stethoscope with rubber anti-chill cushion, circa 1910; Minature phonendoscope with hinged localizing rod, circa 1920; Teske Stethonoscope in original leather case, circa 1930; Pollard Stethoscope with tension screws to adjust the stretch of the diaphragm (missing), circa 1940;Pilling Heart Beat Stethoscope with tension adjustment of the diaphragm (missing), circa 1930.

In 1771, King George III of England granted a Royal Charter to establish the "Society of New York Hospital in the City of New York in America". From 1776 to 1783 the hospital was opened for colonial soldiers wounded in defense of New York City and then used to house british soldiers as barracks during their occupation of the city. The Revolutionary War delayed the opening of New York Hospital to civilans until 1791, and it was initially used to care for patients of the yellow fever epidemic. Cornell University Medical College had utilized the hospital as its teaching facility since its founding in 1898. In 1927, New York Hospital and Cornell University Medical College ageed to build a facility to house both instiutions. The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, modeled after the Pope's Palace in Avignon, opened in 1932 and remains today an imposing neogothic structure known as the "great white palace" on York Avenue at 71st Street.


     

Black and white glass magic latern slides, circa 1932, of Cornell Medical Center and a physician examining the heart of a young patient using a binaural stethoscope. The label on the slide on the right reads "Doctor using stethoscope to listen to patient's heart; Nurse making record on chart; Cornell Med. Center. N.Y. City".



                                            

The left photo is a Western Electric "3A" Stethoscope, circa 1925. The device was portable (14 lbs) and the volume and fliter of ascultatory sounds could be adjusted by turning knobs on the amplifier panel. The photo shows the chest piece to the left of the case and the to the right the Y attachment for a binaural ear piece. A second "consultant" could also listen. The instructions for use of this electronic stethoscope were given on the plate on the inside of the cover which is also shown above. On the right is a RCA "Acoustic" Stethoscope, complete with instructions and technical information, circa 1943. The Faraday "Sonoscope" is shown on the far right in its wooden box and came with instructions and technical information, circa 1956.

Dr. David Littmann was a distinquished cardiologist and international authority on electrocardiography. In 1961 he described the "ideal" stethoscope in the Journal of the American Medical Association . The stethoscope included an "open chestpiece for the the appreciation of low-pitched sounds, a closed chestpiece with a stiff plastic diaphragm to filter out low-pitched sounds, firm tubing with a single lumen bore, the shortest practical overall length, a spring with precise tension to hold the ear tubes apart, and light and convienent to carry and use." The Littmann Stethoscope was referred to as a "two-sided chestpiece" stethoscope and was originally made by a small, Cambridge Massachusetts company, Cardiosonics. There were two models, the doctor's stethoscope and the nurse's stethoscope. The Littmann Stethoscope rapidly became the stethoscope of choice in America and its original design is still the basis for most stethoscopes used in medical prcatice today.

                           

David Littmann, circa 1972. Note the electrocardiogram, textbook of electrocardiography by Dr. Littmann and Littmann stethoscope at the bottom of the photograph.
On the left is the original Littmann stethoscope, circa 1961. The use of stainless steel and firm tygon (instead of rubber) tubing made from plastic enabled the manufacture of a model weighing only 3 onces. On the right is the original cardboard box that contained this stethoscope.
( Photo of Dr. Littmann courtesy of the Harvard Gazzete )

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