What’s That?

Dr. Chris:Hey Ichabod.   Do you know what the veterinarian is holding in this picture?

Ichabod:Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.  That’s a stethoscope.  Dr. Rene Laennec invented it almost 200 years ago.   Veterinarians use it to listen to the insides of an animal.

Dr. Chris:  That’s right.  When we listen to animals with a stethoscope its called auscultation.  Veterinarians auscultate pets during the physical exam.  Many times sick pets have different sounds inside them than healthy pets.  That’s what these veterinarians are listening for – sounds that might mean that these pets are sick.

Ichabod: Like when I ate all the dog cookies from the treat jar in the hospital waiting room?

Dr. Chris:Oh yeah.  There were lots of noises in you stomach on that day.

Ichabod:  And the heart.  Veterinarians listen to an animal’s heart with a stethoscope.

Dr. Chris:  You do know your science Ichabod.  And here’s a very interesting piece of history most doctors and veterinarians don’t even know.   Even thought Dr. Laennec invented the stethoscope in 1816, physicians and veterinarians were not certain what the heart sounds they were hearing were associated with.  They didn’t know what they meant.

Ichabod:  You mean the “lub dub, lub dub, lub dub” sound?   They didn’t understand what was causing those sounds?

Dr. Chris:  That’s right.  Almost 50 years after the invention of the stethoscope, it took a veterinarian to show everyone what these sounds were caused by.  Dr. Jean-Baptiste Chauveau studied horses with a device called a cardiac catheter and established the relationship between the  “lub dub” sounds and the actions of the heart.  In his work he showed that these sounds were associated with the valves of the heart. 

Ichabod:So it was a veterinarian who showed us what makes heart sounds?

Dr. Chris:  That’s right.  It’s just one more area where veterinarians have helped us understand more about animals….and humans.

Ichabod: Veterinarians rock!

Dr. Chris:  And so do future veterinarians.  If you’re interested in learning more about the heart and the stethoscope, check out the free preview of the book Lilly’s Heart to learn more about the heart. 

 

 

 

Dr Chris