The tale of an old stethoscope: from Mr Bampton (1816–65) to the British Thoracic Society

摘要

The stethoscope has long been a powerful symbol of the physician. This article describes a stethoscope that was presented as a prize to an outstanding student, Mr Bampton, by his eminent teacher Dr James Hope (1801–41) in 1837. The extraordinary journey of this prize stethoscope that eventually found its way to North Wales and into the hands of the Liverpool physician, Robert Coope (1892–1972), is outlined. Its subsequent importance and symbolism to the Thoracic Society and the British Thoracic Society is emphasized.