ARTERIAL PRESSURE IN MAN 



85 



ceases to be felt at the wrist ; this point is the measure of systolic or 

 maximal pressure. 



It is not always easy to determine the exact point at which the pulse ceases 

 to be felt. The difficulty is got over by Oliver, who attaches a small tambour 



over the brachial artery at the elbow and connects this with a binaural stetho- 

 scope. As the pressure is raised over the upper arm the pulse beats become very 

 distinctly heard in the artery at the elbow, but when the pressure is sufficient to 

 occlude the brachial the beats instantly cease. This observation enables the 

 systolic pressure which is the point of most value clinically to be determined 

 with great exactitude. 



