XIII 



THE SPHYGMOMANOMETER AND THE 

 ENDOCRINES 



BY R. 0. 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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