How does a doctor use a stethoscope?

Question

i have never been to a doctor and i see people saying they use a stethoscope what is it and how is it used

Answer 1

A stethoscope is used to hear your heartbeat and determine if it's regular, and also to determine blood pressure. It's sort of like a little amplifier with an ear piece on it, that he will place on your chest and listen to your heart. To determine your blood pressure a Sphygmomanometer is used, which is a cuff they put around your elbow that can be pumped full of air. The stethoscope is placed underneath, on the inside of your elbow. Once it's filled to a certain point the air is then slowly released and the doctor counts how many beats s/he hears in a minute (or per second).

Answer 2

It's basically a flat piece coneected to a long tube, which then splits into two tubes, one leading to each ear.  A doctor uses the instrument to listen to your heart and to check for a normal heartbeat.  He can also hear your lungs working, and he'll know if you are wheezing or breathing normally.  He basically puts the flat piece (which is surprisingly cold) up to your chest.  The sound then goes from the flat piece, which is essentially like a drum, and to his ears.

If you feel uncomfortable with a male doctor putting his hands on your bare chest, you can request a female doctor.  This won't offend him, so don't be scared to do so.

Answer 3

If you already know what a stethoscope looks like then you are ahead of the game.  You take the end with the two ear pieces and place them in your ears.  Be extra careful because the flat piece on the other end is very very sensitive and if you hit it against anything it will hurt your ears.  you take that flat piece and you can place it over the heart, lungs, or the stomach.  This is called auscultating, which simply means you are listening for sounds of the heart, lungs, or of the stomach.  Go to google and type in auscultation of breath sounds, heart sounds, or bowel sounds.  Have fun!