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2 Arterial Pulse
CONTENTS
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE ARTERIAL PULSE
ASSESSMENT OF THE ARTERIAL PULSE
PRACTICAL POINTS IN THE CLINICAL ASSESSMENT
OF THE ARTERIAL PULSE
REFERENCES
changes in the wall tension of the vessel similar to the recording of an apical impulse
reflecting the change in left ventricular wall tension. The wall tension is governed by the
principles of Laplace relationship. The tension is directly proportional to the pressure
and the radius and inversely related to the thickness of the vessel wall. Since ejection of
the major portion of the stroke volume takes place in the early and mid-systole, the cause
of major change in tension in early and mid-systole is a result of changes in both volume
and pressure. During the later part of systole and during diastole, however, the predomi-
nant effect must be primarily due to changes in pressure, although volume may also play
a part. The dominance of the pressure pulse effect on the tension of the vessel wall for
the greater part of the cardiac cycle is the main reason for the similarity of the externally
recorded carotid pulse tracing and the internally recorded pressure curve.