Pulse Sites Anatomy Quiz

Pulse Rate and Exercise

• The average male's pulse rate is slightly lower than the female's after puberty.
• Pulse rate normally increases with activity.
• Professional athletes often have a lower rate of pulse increase due to greater cardiac size, strength, and efficiency.

Pulse Sites

• Temporal pulse site: where the temporal artery passes over the temporal bone of the head, superior and lateral to the eye.
• Carotid pulse site: at the side of the neck where the carotid artery runs between the trachea and the sternocleidomastoid muscle.
• Apical pulse site: at the apex of the heart, located on the left side of the chest in adults.
• Brachial pulse site: at the inner aspect of the biceps muscle of the arm or medially in the antecubital space.
• Radial pulse site: where the radial artery runs along the radial bone, on the thumb side of the inner aspect of the wrist.
• Femoral pulse site: where the femoral artery passes alongside the inguinal ligament.
• Popliteal pulse site: where the popliteal artery passes behind the knee.
• Posterior tibial pulse site: on the medial surface of the ankle where the posterior tibial artery passes behind the medial malleolus.
• Dorsalis pedis pulse site: where the dorsalis pedis artery passes over the bones of the foot, on an imaginary line drawn from the middle of the ankle to the space between the big and second toes.

Assessing the Pulse

• Palpation (feeling) and auscultation (hearing) are common methods for assessing the pulse.
• Middle three fingertips are used for palpating all pulse sites except the apex of the heart.
• A stethoscope is used for assessing apical pulses.
• A Doppler ultrasound stethoscope is used for pulses that are difficult to assess.

Apical Pulse

• The apical pulse is used to obtain the heart rate of an adult with an irregular peripheral pulse.
• It is used to establish baseline data for subsequent evaluation.
• It determines whether the cardiac rate is within normal range and the rhythm is regular.
• It is used to monitor clients with cardiac, pulmonary, or renal disease and those receiving medications to improve heart action.

Pulse

• The pulse is a wave of blood created by contraction of the left ventricle of the heart.
• It represents the stroke volume output or the amount of blood that enters the arteries with each ventricular contraction.
• Cardiac output is the volume of blood pumped into the arteries by the heart and equals the result of the stroke volume (SV) times the heart rate (HR) per minute.

Factors Affecting the Pulse

• Age: pulse rate gradually decreases with increasing age.
• Sex: the average male's pulse rate is slightly lower than the female's after puberty.
• Tachycardia: an excessively fast heart rate (e.g., over 100 beats/min in an adult).
• Bradycardia: a heart rate in an adult of less than 60 beats/min.
• Dysrhythmia or arrhythmia: a pulse with an irregular rhythm.

Test your knowledge on the anatomical locations of pulse sites like posterior tibial and dorsalis pedis. Learn about the reasons for using specific pulse sites in assessing the pulse, whether through palpation or auscultation.