The History of Blood Pressure Measurement

This is a volume of medical history that documents and illustrates the development of blood pressure measurement from the times of the Chinese emperors some 5,000 years ago to modern medicine today. The only book of its kind, it examines the relationship between the availability of technical methodology and the development of methods to measure blood pressure and shows how the availability of materials and preceding work led to the modern measurement of blood pressure. Also, it describes the changing attitude of physicians toward the measurement of blood pressure and its bearing on the interpretation of the significance of blood pressure. Following an introduction, the book's main sections cover the pulse, sphygmography, sphygmomanometry in the 19th century, sphygmomanometry in the modern era, and how the evolution of blood pressure measurement from the art of the pulse lore to modern non-invasive automated portable devices has offered physicians down the ages opportunities to improve the clinical outcome of their patients. The book contains a great many exclusive illustrations of antique as well as modern instruments, definitive bibliographic references, and a comprehensive index.