From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Auscultation \Aus'cul*ta"tion\, noun [L. ausculcatio, fr. auscultare to listen, fr. a dim. of auris, orig. ausis, ear. See {Auricle}, and cf. {Scout}, noun]
1. The act of listening or hearkening to. --Hickes.
2. (Med.) An examination by listening either directly with the ear (immediate auscultation) applied to parts of the body, as the abdomen; or with the stethoscope (mediate auscultation), in order to distinguish sounds recognized as a sign of health or of disease.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: listening to sounds within the body (usually with a stethoscope)
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