Sphygmomanometer
A sphygmomanometer is a medical device specifically designed to measure blood pressure in an organism's arteries, which is crucial for assessing heart health. It typically consists of an inflatable cuff that is placed around the arm and inflated to restrict blood flow, allowing a pressure gauge to determine the blood pressure. The history of sphygmomanometers dates back to 1881 when Austrian doctor Samuel Karl Ritter von Basch invented the first version for human use. This device evolved from earlier studies of the circulatory system, with significant contributions from various physicians over centuries, including the use of crude devices for measuring blood pressure in animals.
The invention was modernized in 1896 by Italian doctor Scipione Riva-Rocci, who introduced the cuff design commonly used today, which was later popularized in the United States by Harvey Cushing. Over time, sphygmomanometers have transitioned from mercury-based instruments to electronic and digital models, particularly following the introduction of wrist cuffs in the 1990s by Panasonic, due to health concerns regarding mercury. Sphygmomanometers are now widely used in medical settings, including doctors' offices and hospitals, as well as for personal monitoring in homes. Maintaining normal blood pressure is pivotal, as high blood pressure can lead to serious health issues such as heart disease.
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Sphygmomanometer
A sphygmomanometer is a medical device that measures blood pressure in an organism's arteries. Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of the blood vessels. A sphygmomanometer consists of an inflatable cuff that is placed over the arm and then pumped with air so it tightens. This tightening restricts blood flow in the arm and measures the person's blood pressure using a pressure gauge. Maintaining normal blood pressure is important to heart health, as high blood pressure can lead to the development of heart disease. Sphygmomanometers, invented in 1881, remain important medical instruments in the twenty-first century.
Overview
Various global societies studied the human circulatory system for thousands of years before Austrian doctor Samuel Karl Ritter von Basch invented the first sphygmomanometer in 1881. Ancient Chinese, Roman, and Indian physicians all proposed different mechanics of the human heart and the blood that flowed in vessels throughout the body.
Human knowledge of the circulatory system advanced slowly over the centuries. English doctor William Harvey contributed a wealth of information to the subject when he concluded in 1628 that the human heart pumps blood to all of the body's vital organs and that this blood flows in a cycle.
Doctors eventually discovered the relationship between heartbeat and pulse over the next century, leading them to devise instruments that could measure an organism's blood pressure. The English minister and scientist Stephen Hales used a crude early version of such a device on a horse in 1733. He inserted a glass tube into one of the horse's arteries and noted the changes in the blood's pressure as blood was pumped into the tube.
Finally, in 1881, Basch invented the first workable blood pressure device for use on humans. The device came to be called a sphygmomanometer from the Greek sphygmos, meaning "pulse," and manometer, an instrument used to measure pressure. Basch's sphygmomanometer was made with a rubber bulb that was filled with water and pressed forcefully onto a person's wrist. This force blocked the artery's blood flow so the blood pressure could be taken. The person's pressure was conveyed through the bulb and into a connected mercury meter. The meter filled with mercury to gauge the person's blood pressure.
In 1896, Italian doctor Scipione Riva-Rocci updated Basch's design by devising a cuff that was placed around the arm to take someone's blood pressure. In 1901, American doctor Harvey Cushing popularized the cuff type of sphygmomanometer in the United States. From this point, Riva-Rocci's modernization of Basch's original device was the standard instrument used by medical personnel for measuring blood pressure.
Blood pressure measurement modernized even more over the next century. In 1993, the Japanese electronics corporation Panasonic created a wrist cuff that electronically measured its wearer's blood pressure. Electronic and digital sphygmomanometers soon became alternatives to mercury devices due to the human health risks associated with the element mercury. Sphygmomanometers are generally found in doctors' offices, hospitals, ambulances, and homes.
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