title: The tale of an old stethoscope: from Mr Bampton (1816-65) to the British Thoracic Society.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Aintree, Liverpool, UK. J.E.Earis@liverpool.ac.uk
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Earis
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Earis
mesh_terms: D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000266:history*; D019023:Stethoscopes / Q000266:history*; D013896:Thoracic Diseases / Q000266:history*; D006113:United Kingdom