Blood Pressure Measurement: Lessons Learned from Our Ancestors

The profound observations of William Harvey (1578-1657), in blood circulation and the progress of physical science laid the foundation for the development of the Iatrophysical School that contributed to the evolution of clinical sphygmomanometry. The pioneer work of Reverend Stephen Hales (1677-1761) demonstrated the dynamics of the vascular system. One century later the French physician Jean-Léonard-Marie Poiseuille (1797-1867) invented a U-tube mercury manometer and in 1860 the physiologist Etienne- Jules Marey (1830-1904) devised the first portable sphygmograph for recording the pulse wave. The non-invasive techniques of blood pressure measurement were completed by Scipione Riva-Rocci (1896-1937) sphygmomanometer and the description of “Korotkov sounds” by the Russian surgeon Nikolai- Sergeyevich Korotkov (1874-1920).