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The mercury sphygmomanometer: soon a museum piece!

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 35, pages 490–491 (2021)Cite this article

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A Correction to this article was published on 02 March 2021

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Measuring the blood pressure on a mercury sphygmomanometer used to be (and still is, in some countries) one of the first practical skills taught to medical and nursing students. Watching the mercury level drop slowly in the tube in a controlled manner while intently listening to the Korotkoff sounds appear and then muffle and finally disappear was an art to perfect. This process would then have been performed countless number of times throughout their practicing years. Besides being an integral part of the clinical examination, chatting with the patient while pumping up the cuff (although guidelines recommend that patient should be in a quiet room with no speaking), and then listening to their brachial artery was a great way to build a rapport with the patient.

Times however are changing and with the ban on the use of mercury in medical instruments (such as thermometers and sphygmomanometers), these appliances are gradually being replaced in most countries since the early 2000s [1]. However, the tradition of applying the cuff and listening to the sounds while watching the needle swing across the aneroid dial continued. And now with the increased use of automated devices, even that ritual is disappearing. There are many who would decry that technology is taking away yet another important part of the patient clinician interaction.

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  1. Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman

    Hassan Al-Riyami & Sunil K. Nadar

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  1. Hassan Al-Riyami
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Correspondence to Sunil K. Nadar.

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Al-Riyami, H., Nadar, S.K. The mercury sphygmomanometer: soon a museum piece!. J Hum Hypertens 35, 490–491 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-020-00462-8

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