EFFECT OF ALTERATIONS IN POSTURE ON THE INTRA-ARTERIAL BLOOD PRESSURE IN MAN

Abstract

In 1931 two of us¹ described a direct method for measuring the intra-arterial blood pressure in man, together with the results obtained in a series of normal subjects and in persons with arteriosclerosis. In the course of an investigation on the effect of alterations in posture on the venous pressure and the cerebrospinal fluid pressure and on the velocity of blood flow, it was determined that we should study the intraarterial blood pressure under the same conditions. The method was found to be ideally suited for this investigation, particularly of the pressure in the carotid artery. At first, the effect of alterations in posture on the blood pressure in the carotid artery alone was studied. Later, simultaneous observations of the pressure in the carotid and brachial arteries and in the carotid and femoral arteries were obtained. The effect of changes in posture on the intra-arterial pressure as measured directly