Volume 2

An introduction to the use of the stethoscope; with its application to the diagnosis in diseases of the thoracic viscera. Including the pathology of these various affections / by William Stokes.

  • Stokes, William, 1804-1878
Date:
1825
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An introduction to the use of the stethoscope; with its application to the diagnosis in diseases of the thoracic viscera. Including the pathology of these various affections / by William Stokes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    21/248 (page 3)
    OF PERCUSSION. Tue sound heard upon striking the chest is al- ways proportional to the size of this cavity, and the thickness and elasticity of its parietes. It varies according as we strike on a point covered with soft and thick parts; according to the state of émaciation or infiltration of the cellular sub- stance ; the posture of the patient ; the part struck ; and the manner of practising the percussion. A clear sound, which has been compared to that produced by striking an empty barrel, is ob- tained anteriorly when we strike on the clavicles ; on the space two or three inches below them; on the entire surface of the sternum; and the neigh- bouring parts of the costal cartilages. Laterally, the axilla, and the space for three inches below it, are the places where the clearest sound is obtained; on the right side, from the