A stethoscope is a instrument used by doctors and other medical specialists. It is used to measure people’s heartbeat and their breathing. It is placed on the area where the heart is or on the back. A modern stethoscope is made up of a Y-shaped flexible plastic tube. An earpiece is attached to each end of the Y and a sound-detecting device at the other end. The sound-detecting device has a thin plastic sheet on one side and a bell shape with a hole in on the other. The diaphragm is used to listen to a patient’s chest for high-pitched sounds. The bell end is used to detect lower-pitched sounds. The lung sounds have a higher pitch than heart sounds. Check out the image below showing the parts of a stethoscope!
