Sphygmomanometer

A sphygmomanometer measures arterial blood pressure using an inflatable cuff and a pressure gauge or sensor. Manual models detect pressure changes with a stethoscope; automated models use electronic sensors.

Korotkoff sounds: Sounds heard over an artery as cuff pressure falls and blood flow resumes. In manual measurement, their first and last phases mark systolic and diastolic pressure.
Systolic pressure: The peak pressure in arteries during ventricular contraction. A manual reading identifies it when blood first flows beneath the deflating cuff.
Auscultatory blood pressure measurement: A method that estimates blood pressure by listening for Korotkoff sounds while a cuff deflates. It is the standard manual procedure using a cuff, gauge, and stethoscope.
Mercury sphygmomanometer: A manual sphygmomanometer that displays pressure using the height of a mercury column. It is the traditional reference design against which other cuff devices have been compared.
Oscillometric method: An automated technique that estimates blood pressure from cuff-pressure oscillations caused by arterial pulsations. It replaces listening for Korotkoff sounds with analysis of pressure oscillations.
Diastolic pressure: The lowest arterial pressure during ventricular relaxation between heartbeats. A manual reading identifies it when Korotkoff sounds disappear.
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring: Repeated blood-pressure measurement over a day and night using a wearable automated monitor. Portable sphygmomanometers capture readings during ordinary activity and sleep.
Aneroid sphygmomanometer: A manual sphygmomanometer that uses a mechanical dial gauge rather than a mercury column. Its portable dial replaces the mercury column but requires periodic calibration.
Blood pressure cuff: An inflatable sleeve that temporarily compresses an artery during blood-pressure measurement. Its controlled compression is the instrument’s direct interface with the artery.
Millimetres of mercury: A pressure unit equal to the pressure exerted by a millimetre-high column of mercury. Blood-pressure readings are conventionally expressed in this unit.

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