Why does a doctor hold our wrist while examining us?
Answers
Answer:
If you place the first three fingers of your hand on the inside of your wrist, a dull throbbing reverberates through your hand. Da-dub, da-dub, da-dub. Very reassuring, these gentle thuds, that remind us that our bodies are kicking along, and that, at least at last touch, we’re alive and well.
By pulse we mean the regular throbbing of arteries caused by the successive contractions of the heart. During the action of the heart there is a pause. During this pause, the wall of the aorta contracts. The aorta is the great trunk artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
This contraction forces the excess blood to proceed along the arteries. This alternate expansion and contraction of the aorta produces a throbbing in the arteries. And this throbbing – which can be felt at many points in the body – through the skin, is called pulse.