 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2008) |
| Pulse | |
|---|---|
_(14742233966).jpg) Diagram of the rise and lower of blood
from a pulse. | |
| Organisms | Animalia* |
| Biological system | Circulatory system |
| Action | Involuntary |
| Method | Heart pumps blood using reciprocating method causing inconstant blood flow throughout the circulatory system that can be recognized. (See Cardiac cycle) |
| Frequency | 60–100 per minute (humans) |
| Duration | 0.6–1 second (humans) |
| Animalia with the exception of Porifera, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Platyhelminthes, Bryozoan, Amphioxus. | |
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the neck (carotid artery), wrist (radial artery or ulnar artery), at the groin (femoral artery), behind the knee (popliteal artery), near the ankle joint (posterior tibial artery), and on foot (dorsalis pedis artery). The radial pulse is commonly measured using three fingers. This has a reason: the finger closest to the heart is used to occlude the pulse pressure, the middle finger is used get a crude estimate of the blood pressure, and the finger most distal to the heart (usually the ring finger) is used to nullify the effect of the ulnar pulse as the two arteries are connected via the palmar arches (superficial and deep).[citation needed] The study of the pulse is known as sphygmology.[citation needed]