The stethoscope as a diagnostic tool.

It is not the purpose of this article to list the stethoscopic findings in various diseases, nor to discuss such conditions in detail, all of which may be found in any good text book of medicine. Rather, an attempt will be made to assess the significance of the stethoscope, with its limitations, in clinical diagnosis. Does it in fact now have a role of any importance, or is it merely carried as the doctor's traditional badge of office?