I’m looking for the specific name, if there is one, of the vaguely silly-looking thing that Dick Martin, say, might have worn to designate that he was a doctor in a *Laugh-In * sketch–just a headband with a small circular mirror fixed at the center above the doctor’s forehead. It might still be valid medical apparel, but I think it’s morphed in more recent years to a magnifying eyepiece or the like.
Having a hard time locating this thing via Google. Many thanks in advance.
FWIW, one of the key purposes of the head mirror is its use in performing indirect laryngoscopy (in order to to get a view something like this).
When did doctors quit wearing those on a regular basis?
Great cites, KarlGauss. Great.
You’ve been coming up with a lot of great cites lately. Just to say I noticed.
I dunno exactly, but I can push it back before the early 1980’s, because that’s when I went to medical school (right at the start of the AIDS epidemic - before we named it AIDS) and nobody was wearing them then.
Qadgop? Any other takers?
Here’s the master himself on head mirrors:
Why did doctors wear metal disks with holes in them on their heads?
Arjuna34
I trained in their use in the early 80’s. I don’t think I’ve worn one since the late 80’s though. Cecil nails it when he notes that they are a hassle to use. You generally need a chair (for the patient to sit in) with a strong lightsource attached to it at the right height. A gooseneck lamp can serve also, but it takes a fair bit of time and effort to position it properly. Then you spend 5 minutes trying to get the focus of your mirror in the same place where the focus of your eye is.
Since the development of small, powerful handheld lightsources, their utility in general has declined. It’s easier for me to carry a powerful penlight when I want to see in a throat.
However, they sure are handy when you need two hands free to muck around in an ear or a nostril or a throat. As such, they’re still part of the standard tools for most ENT doctors, though many of them just use a powerful light attached to their forehead, rather than the light/mirror combo.
Here’s a nice (if archaic) illustration as to how they’re used. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18467/18467-h/images/advise169.png
