XIII 
THE SPHYGMOMANOMETER AND THE 
ENDOCRINES 
By R. O. BUTTERFIELD, M.D., Denver, Colo. 
In the days of our childhood, the old-fashioned family 
physician used to judge our fever by the pulse rate, and 
by the sense of touch determined the quality of the 
pulse or the blood pressure. He might or might not have 
used the stethoscope. Then came the clinical thermome- 
ter and other instruments of diagnostic value, but 
without a doubt the most important one of recent years 
is the sphygmomanometer. 
After a physician becomes accustomed to the fre- 
quent use of the last-named instrument, he will find it 
more valuable in diagnosis than the clinical thermome- 
ter; also as an indicator of the progress of the condition 
present, as well as a means of determining the prog- 
nosis of many diseases. He will find the indications for 
the use of the sphygmomanometer, generally speaking, 
more frequent than those for the stethoscope and that 
when both instruments are used the findings of the 
former will often be more valuable than those of the 
stethoscope. 
The knowledge gained in the last decade or two by 
means of the sphygmomanometer regarding blood pres- 
sure in various diseases, is immense and in some ways 
is rather surprising. Sometimes, too, this information 
is rather contradictory to what might have been ex- 
pected from other conditions present. 
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