A Brief Journey into the History of the Arterial Pulse

Figure 3

Herrison’s sphygmometer: this device was composed of a graduate glass tube containing mercury with a semiglobular ball at one end. With the semiglobular end being placed over an artery, it would show the action of the vessel and the force of its impulse. It was designed in a manner that would enable the examination of the pulse in relation to its force, regularity, and rhythm.