THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD PRESSURE IN FIBRILLATION OF THE AURICLES

1. Experiments on dogs show that whereas the pulse pressure in the larger arteries (femoral) varies extensively, it varies within narrow limits only in the small ones (dorsal artery of the foot). These results supply an experimental explanation for the fact that in man uniform pressure readings were obtained by Gaertner's method at the digital artery. 2. The experiments show likewise that in certain instances the level of pressure is maintained when fibrillation of the auricles sets in. It is therefore clear that when the mechanism of the heart beat in man changes to fibrillation of the auricles, a change, that is a fall, in pressure need not necessarily develop.