sphygmograph

[ sfig-muh-graf, -grahf ]

noun

1. an instrument for recording the rapidity, strength, and uniformity of the arterial pulse.

sphygmograph

/ sfɪɡˈmɒɡrəfɪ; -ˌɡræf; ˌsfɪɡməʊˈɡræfɪk; ˈsfɪɡməʊˌɡrɑːf /

noun

1. med an instrument for making a recording ( sphygmogram ) of variations in blood pressure and pulse

Derived Forms

• sphygmographic, adjective
• sphygmography, noun

Other Words From

• sphyg·mo·graph·ic [sfig-m, uh, -, graf, -ik], adjective
• sphyg·mog·ra·phy [sfig-, mog, -r, uh, -fee], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sphygmograph¹

First recorded in 1855–60; sphygmo- + -graph

Example Sentences

He called it the sphygmograph, or “pulse writer,” and in 1854 he used it to trace 45 feeble pulses of Johann Hahn, a 71-year-old patient who suffered from pulmonary emphysema.

From New York Times

Lastly, when these means fail to remove all obscurity, or when special scientific investigation is practicable, instruments of precision are employed, as the thermometer, sphygmograph, ophthalmoscope, �sthesiometer, or aspirator; or by the microscope and chemical analyses still more minute examination is made into the particulars of the morbid processes present and their results.

From Project Gutenberg

Sphygmograph, sfig′mō-graf, n. an instrument for ascertaining and recording the form, force, and frequency of the pulse-beat, and the changes it undergoes in certain morbid states.—adj.

From Project Gutenberg

Never was the human body as a machine so understood, never did it give such an account of itself, as it now does in the legible handwriting of the cardiograph, the sphygmograph, the myograph, and other self-registering contrivances, with all of which the student of to-day is expected to be practically familiar.

From Project Gutenberg

In this case, the heart has been repeatedly explored without any positive result, and the pulse has been frequently tested by the sphygmograph.

From Project Gutenberg