Gourt > Health > Nursing > Specialties > Critical Care > Auscultation Simulators
- For the ancient monasterial worker, see Auscultare
Auscultation is the technical term for listening to the internal sounds of the body, usually using a stethoscope. Auscultation is normally performed for the purposes of examining the cardiovascular system and respiratory systems (heart and lung sounds), as well as the gastrointestinal system (bowel sounds).
The technical term was invented by René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laënnec, a French physician. It is based on the Latin verb auscultare "to listen". However the act of listening to body sounds for diagnostic purposes has its origin further back in history, possibly as early as Ancient Egypt. Laennec's contribution was to formally document the procedure and relevant findings in a formal manner in his book "De l'auscultation médiate", published in 1819. Laennec's contribution to the field went further, not only documenting clinical findings, but inventing the requisite device in the form of the first stethoscope, a wooden trumpet that allowed him to listen to woman patients without having to place his ears to their breasts.
More on [ Auscultation ]
Auscultation Assistant - Audio files of (simulated) heart and actual lung sounds with explanations of physiology.
Meta Description: [ Hear heart murmurs, heart sounds, and breath sounds to help with physical diagnosis ]
Blaufuss Medical Multimedia Laboratories - Offers digital recordings of actual patients, with high-resolution animations, ECGs and explanatory text. Tutorials and online quiz.
Meta Description: [ Interactive multimedia tutorials and tests are available for aortic and mitral valve disease, and for supraventricular tachycardias (SVTs), using actual patient sounds, video, and custom animations. ]
Heart Sounds - WAV files of various normal and abnormal sounds.
HeartLab: FamilyPractice.com - Provides text and icons to illustrate examination technique, describing both chest locations and patient maneuvers that are usually best to identify particular physical findings. Users can select the listening location to hear (simulated) normal and abnormal heart sounds and murmurs. Requires that Java and JavaScript be enabled.
McGill Virtual Stethoscope Project - Listen to heart sounds, murmurs, breath sounds, and visualize them with spectra and shockwave animations.
Meta Description: [ Listen to heart sounds, murmurs, breath souds, and
visualize them with spectra and shockwave animations. ]
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Practice of Medicine: The Cardiac Exam - Dennis Desilvey, M.D., demonstrates the cardiac examination on a healthy subject in this 18-minute video, giving descriptions on how to listen with the stethoscope and how to observe the patient. Requires QuickTime.
The R.A.L.E. Repository - Presents digital recordings of respiratory sounds in health and disease.
