stetho-, steth-

An instrument whereby several people can listen to the sounds transmitted through a stethoscope.

1. An instrument used to transmit low-volume sounds such as the heartbeat (or intestinal, venous, or fetal sounds) to the ears of the listener.
2.An instrument used to hear and to amplify the sounds produced by the heart, lungs, and other internal organs.

It has two earpieces and flexible tubing leading to them from the two-branched opening of the bell or cone; so, the sound travels simultaneously through both branches to the earpieces.

The stethoscope is one of the symbols of the medical profession.

The origins of the stethoscope have been traced back to the French physician, Laënnec, who invented a crude model in 1819, which consisted of a wooden box that served to help physicians hear the sounds within the chest cavity.

1. A reference to a Y-shaped instrument that amplifies body sounds; such as, heartbeat, breathing, and air in the intestines mostly applied to the chest.
2. A descriptive term for an instrument consisting of two earpieces connected by means of flexible tubing to a diaphragm, which is placed against the skin of the patient's chest, or back, to hear the heart and lung sounds; and it is also used to hear bowel sounds.