How the stethoscope was invented | Moments of Vision 7 - Jessica Oreck

譯者: Songzhe Gao 審譯者: Ann Chen

In a Moment of Vision...

靈光乍現 ……

It's 1816.

在 1816 年

A 35-year-old doctor by the name of René Laennec

35 歲的醫生何內·雷奈克

is walking through Paris.

行經巴黎街頭

He pauses to watch as two children signal to each other

他停下來看兩位小孩 在一根長木板的兩端互打信號

across a long piece of wooden board.

One child holds the board to her ear.

其中一位將木板貼在耳朵

The other scratches the opposite end

另一位則在另一端刮著木板

sending the amplified sound down the length of wood.

放大後的磨擦聲 透過木板傳了過去

Later, Laennec is called to assess a young woman with a heart condition.

稍後，雷奈克醫師 被要求診視一位有心臟疾病的少女

The patient is purportedly quite well developed

據說這位患者身形豐滿

and Laennec expresses some hesitation

雷奈克對耳朵緊貼在她的胸部 有些猶豫不決

in pressing his ear directly against her chest.

Remembering the children with the board,

想起小孩們的遊戲

Laennec, in a moment of vision and dignity,

同時想維護尊嚴的他 靈光乍現

tightly rolls a sheet of paper

他把一張紙緊緊捲起來

and places one end to his ear

一端貼在耳邊

and one end over the young woman's heaving bosom.

另一端貼在那少女 上下起伏的胸部

He is delighted by the clarity of the sound.

清晰的聲音讓他很滿意

Laennec spends the next three years developing and testing various materials

雷奈克在其後三年 研發並測試不同材質與結構

and mechanisms

before settling on a hollow wooden tube with detachable plug.

最後用中空的木管 和可拆卸的塞子製作

His device becomes the forerunner

他發明的儀器是

to the metal, plastic, and rubber stethoscope we still use today.

現今用金屬、塑膠 和橡膠製聽診器的先驅

翻譯：Songzhe Gao