In A Treatise on the Diseases of the Chest and on Mediate Auscultation

In A Treatise on the Diseases of the Chest and on Mediate Auscultation. Translated by John Forbes, 281-293. London: Thomas & George Underwood.

1. In “The Forgotten Fear of Excrement,” how does the author explain that the notion of excrement (what is excrement?) has changed over time? (Explain its connection with the humoral theory throughout history.) How did excrement associate with fear in the past and how does the author mean when he points out that such fear is gradually forgotten?
2. In “Standardizing Tongue Diagnosis with Image Processing Technology,” what is the tension between authenticity of tongue diagnosis in Chinese medicine and the innovation of the standardized images of tongues carried out by the medical school of Chang Gung University? How does the University project attempt to mitigate such tension? What are the difficulties that needed to be overcome?
3. What do you think the purpose of which Laennec wrote this? Who would be the target reader? How did Laennec associate with his innovation with his predecessors who inspired him? How (what steps did he take) did he improve the diagnostic technique? What medical and non-medical consideration facilitated him for the improvement? How do you connect Laennec’s medical practices and the invention of stethoscope with his view of chest diseases?
4. What were the three classes of application of the invented stethoscope, according to Laennec? What remained limited for Laennec to examine the chest cavity with his new instrument? Within these applications, what were the examples that Laennec could achieve but his predecessors could not? (The significance of his improvement in the field of anatomy.)

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