Role of Abdominal Aortic Branches in Pulse Wave Contour Genesis

Central and peripheral pulse wave contours were recorded in dogs before and after occlusion of the major visceral arteries. Comparison of the pulse wave contours indicates that occlusion of the visceral branches produces very little effect upon the wave form of the central and peripheral pulse. The major changes noted were slight shifts in the timing of reflected components, and it would appear that the timing changes can be explained on the basis of the increase in pulse wave velocity attendant with a rise in the arterial blood pressure. Both the importance of these findings in the understanding of pulse wave contour genesis and the basic assumptions of the standing wave hypothesis are discussed.