Pulse / For other uses, see Pulse (disambiguation). This page has some issues Pulse evaluation at the radial artery. In medicine, ones pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck (carotid artery), on the inside of the elbow (brachial artery), at the wrist (radial artery), at the groin (femoral artery), behind the knee (popliteal artery), near the ankle joint (posterior tibial artery), and on foot (dorsalis pedis artery). Pulse (or the count of arterial pulse per minute) is equivalent to measuring the heart rate. The heart rate can also be measured by listening to the heart beat directly (auscultation), traditionally using a stethoscope and counting it for a minute. The study of the pulse is known as sphygmology. Contents Physiology Characteristics of pulse Rate Rhythm Volume Hypokinetic pulse Hyperkinetic pulse Force Tension Form Equality Condition of arterial wall Radio-femoral delay Patterns Common palpable sites Upper limb Lower limb Head and neck Torso See also References PhysiologyEdit The pulse is a decidedly low tech and high yield and antiquated term still useful at the bedside in an age of computational analysis of cardiac performance. Claudius Galen was perhaps the first physiologist to describe the pulse.[1] The pulse is an expedient tactile method of determination of systolic blood pressure to a trained observer. Diastolic blood pressure is non-palpable and unobservable by tactile methods, occurring between heartbeats. Pressure waves generated by the heart in systole moves the arterial walls. Forward movement of blood occurs when the boundaries are pliable and compliant. These properties form enough to create a palpable pressure wave. The heart rate may be greater or lesser than the pulse rate depending upon physiologic demand. In this case, the heart rate is determined by auscultation or audible sounds at the heart apex, in which case it is not the pulse. The pulse deficit (difference between heart beats and pulsations at the periphery) is determined by simultaneous palpation at the radial artery and auscultation at the heart apex. It may be present in case of premature beats or atrial fibrillation. Pulse velocity, pulse deficits and much more physiologic data are readily and simplistically visualized by the use of one or more arterial catheters connected to a transducer and oscilloscope. This invasive technique has been commonly used in intensive care since the 1970s. The rate of the pulse is observed and measured by tactile or visual means on the outside of an artery and is recorded as beats per minute or BPM. The pulse may be further indirectly observed under light absorbances of varying wavelengths with assigned and inexpensively reproduced mathematical ratios. Applied capture of variances of light signal from the blood component hemoglobin under oxygenated vs. deoxygenated conditions allows the technology of pulse oximetry. Gabby Sanchez there you go
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 05:33:16 +0000
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