Stethoscopes still
play an important role in diagnosing heart, lung and vascular conditions. But
how exactly do they work? Dr. Bhavani Balaravi of Raleigh Cardiology explained:
A stethoscope enhances
body sounds and transmits those sounds to our ears. A typical model has a flat,
round chest piece covered by a thin, tightly stretched skin of plastic called a
diaphragm. The diaphragm vibrates when sound occurs. These high-frequency
sounds travel up the hollow plastic tubing into hollow metal earpieces and into
the doctor’s ears.
What sounds does the
doctor hear when using a stethoscope? A healthy adults heart makes tow sounds
called a “lub” and a “dub”. The lub sound is created by near simultaneous
closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves located between the atria and
ventricle of the heart. When the blood leaves the heart via the aorta and pulmonary
arteries, the near simultaneous closure of the aortic and pulmonary valves
create the dub sound.
When the valves do not
close completely, a raspy or blowing noise can occur. This is a heart murmur,
an extra sound produced as a result of turbulent blood flow during heart beats,
which can mean a valve disorder is present.
Stethoscopes can be
used for a number of different health problems, including determining blood
pressure. Overall they are an incredibly important tool that doctors have been
using for decades.
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