Dictionary:

pulse¹

  (pŭls)

1. The rhythmical throbbing of arteries produced by the regular contractions of the heart, especially as palpated at the wrist or in the neck.
2. 1. A regular or rhythmical beating.
   2. A single beat or throb.
3. Physics.
   1. A brief sudden change in a normally constant quantity: a pulse of current; a pulse of radiation.
   2. Any of a series of intermittent occurrences characterized by a brief sudden change in a quantity.
4. The perceptible emotions or sentiments of a group of people: “a man who had . . . his finger on the pulse of America” (Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.).

1. To pulsate; beat: “The nation pulsed with music and proclamation, with rages and moral pretensions” (Lance Morrow).
2. Physics. To undergo a series of intermittent occurrences characterized by brief, sudden changes in a quantity.

take the pulse of

1. To judge the mood or views of (a political electorate, for example): The politician was able to take the pulse of the grass-roots voters.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pulsus, from past participle of pellere, to beat.]

noun

A periodic contraction or sound of something coursing: beat, palpitation, pulsation, throb. See repetition, sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.

verb

To make rhythmic contractions, sounds, or movements: beat, palpitate, pound, pulsate, throb. See repetition, sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.

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Rise and fall of some quantity (usually voltage) for a period of time.

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(DOD, NATO) In naval mine warfare, a method of operating magnetic and acoustic sweeps in which the sweep is energized by current which varies or is intermittent in accordance with a predetermined schedule.

In medicine, a person's pulse is the throbbing of their arteries as an effect of the heart beat. It can be felt at the neck (carotid artery), at the wrist (radial artery), behind the knee (Popliteal artery), on the inside of the elbow (Brachial artery), near the ankle joint (Posterior Tibial artery), and a few other places.

Pressure waves move the artery walls, which are pliable; these waves are not caused by the forward movement of the blood. When the heart contracts, blood is ejected into the aorta and the aorta stretches. At this point the wave of distention (pulse wave) is pronounced but relatively slow-moving (3 to 6 m/s). As it travels towards the peripheral blood vessels, it gradually diminishes and becomes faster. In the large arterial branches, its velocity is 7 to 10 m/s; in the small arteries, it is 15 to 35 m/s. The pressure pulse is transmitted 15 or more times more rapidly than the blood flow.

The term pulse is also used, although incorrectly, to denote the frequency of the heart beat, usually measured in beats per minute. In most people, the pulse is an accurate measure of heart rate. Under certain circumstances, including arrhythmias, some of the heart beats are ineffective and the aorta is not stretched enough to create a palpable pressure wave. The pulse is too irregular and the heart rate can be (much) higher than the pulse rate. In this case, the heart rate should be determined by auscultation of the heart apex, in which case it is not the pulse. The pulse deficit (difference between heart beats and pulsations at the periphery) should be determined by simultaneous palpation at the radial artery and auscultation at the heart apex.

A normal pulse rate for a healthy adult, while resting, can range from 60 to 100 beats per minute (BPM). During sleep, this can drop to as low as 40 BPM; during strenuous exercise, it can rise as high as 200–220 BPM. Generally, pulse rates are higher in younger people. A resting heart rate for an infant is as high as or higher than an adult's pulse rate during strenuous exercise.

Pulses are manually palpated with fingers. When palpating the carotid artery, the femoral artery or the brachial artery, the thumb may be used. However, the thumb has its own pulse which can interfere with detecting the patient's pulse at other points, where two or three fingers should be used. Fingers or thumb must be placed near an artery and pressed gently against a firm structure, usually a bone, in order to feel the pulse.

An alternative way of finding the pulse rate is by palpating or listening to the heartbeat. This is most commonly done with the examiner's palm or through a stethoscope. Before the invention of the stethoscope examiners would press their ear directly to the chest.

A collapsing pulse is a sign of hyperdynamic circulation.

Common pulse points

• radial pulse - located on the thumb side of the wrist (radial artery)
• ulnar pulse - located on the little finger side of the wrist (ulnar artery)
• carotid pulse - located in the neck (carotid artery). The carotid artery should be palpated gently. Stimulating its baroreceptors with vigorous palpitation can provoke severe bradycardia or even stop the heart in some sensitive persons. Also, a person's two carotid arteries should not be palpated at the same time, to avoid a risk of fainting or brain ischemia.
• brachial pulse - located between the biceps and triceps, on the medial side of the elbow cavity frequently used in place of carotid pulse in infants (brachial artery)
• femoral pulse - located in the thigh (femoral artery)
• popliteal pulse - located behind the knee in the popliteal fossa, found by holding the bent knee. The patient bends the knee at approximately 120°, and the physician holds it in both hands to find the popliteal artery in the pit behind the knee.
• dorsalis pedis pulse - located on top of the foot (dorsalis pedis artery)
• tibialis posterior pulse - located in the back of the ankle behind the medial malleolus (posterior tibial artery).
• temporal pulse - located on the Temple (anatomy)|temple directly in front of the ear (superficial temporal artery)

The ease of palpability of a pulse is dictated by the patient's blood pressure. If his or her systolic blood pressure is below 90 mmHg, the radial pulse will not be palpable. Below 80 mmHg, the brachial pulse will not be palpable. Below 60 mmHg, the carotid pulse will not be palpable. Since systolic blood pressure rarely drops that low, the lack of a carotid pulse usually indicates death. It is not unheard of, however, for patients with certain injuries, illnesses or other medical problems to be conscious and aware with no palpable pulse.

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - puls
v. intr. - banke, pulsere

idioms:

• feel someone's pulse    mærke nogens puls
• pulse code    impulskode-modulation
• pulse modulation    impulsmodulation
• take someone's pulse    tage nogens puls

2.
n. - bælgfrugter

Nederlands (Dutch)
kloppen, pulseren, puls, pols, polsslag, peulvrucht iemands pols voelen

Français (French)
1.
n. - (Anat, Méd) pouls, rythme, battement rythmique (de batteries), (Audio, Élec, Phys) impulsion
v. intr. - palpiter, circuler (le sang), battre fort (le c¯ur)

idioms:

• feel someone's pulse    sentir le pouls (de qn)
• pulse code    impulsions codées
• pulse modulation    modulation d'impulsions
• take someone's pulse    prendre le pouls de qn

2.
n. - (Bot, Culin) plantes légumineuses, légumes à gousse

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Schwingung, Impuls, Rhythmus, Puls
v. - pulsieren, schlagen

idioms:

• feel someone's pulse    den Puls fühlen
• pulse code    Impulskode
• pulse modulation    Pulsmodulation
• take someone's pulse    den Puls fühlen

2.
n. - Hülsenfrucht

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - παλμός, (φυσιολ.) σφυγμός, (φυτολ.) όσπριο, όσπρια
v. - πάλλω/-ομαι, σφύζω

idioms:

• feel someone's pulse    παίρνω το σφυγμό κάποιου
• pulse code    (Η/Υ) παλμικός κώδικας
• pulse modulation    (Η/Υ) παλμοδιαμόρφωση
• take someone's pulse    μετράω τους σφυγμούς κάποιου

Italiano (Italian)
pulsare, battere, vibrare, legume, pulsazione, polso

idioms:

• feel someone's pulse    tastare il polso a qualcuno
• finger on the pulse    aggiornato
• pulse code    codice a impulsi
• pulse modulation    modulazione a impulsi
• take someone's pulse    prendere il polso di

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pulso (m), leguminosa (f) (Bot.)
v. - pulsar

idioms:

• feel/take one's pulse    sentir/tomar o pulso
• finger on the pulse    tomar o pulso
• pulse code    código do telefone
• pulse modulation    modulação de pulso

Русский (Russian)
пульсировать, бобовые растения, пульс, ритм

idioms:

• feel/take one's pulse    проверить пульс
• finger on the pulse    (держать) палец на пульсе, понимать что делать
• pulse code    кодо-импульсная (модуляция)
• pulse modulation    импульсная модуляция

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - pulso, impulso, cadencia, ritmo
v. intr. - latir, pulsar, vibrar

idioms:

• feel someone's pulse    tomar el pulso a uno, sentir el pulso de alguien
• pulse code    código de impulsos
• pulse modulation    modulación por impulsos
• take someone's pulse    tomar al pulso a alguien, medir las pulsaciones de alguien

2.
n. - legumbre, semillas de legumbres

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - puls, pulsslag, dunk, vibrationer
v. - pulsera

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
1. 脉搏, 有节奏的跳动, 脉的一次跳动, 意向, 心态, 搏动, 拍打, 跳动, 振动

idioms:

• feel someone's pulse    为某人诊脉, 试探某人的意向
• pulse code    脉冲电码
• pulse modulation    脉冲调变, 间歇载波
• take someone's pulse    为某人诊脉, 试探某人的意向

2. 豆类植物, 豆

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 脈搏, 有節奏的跳動, 脈的一次跳動, 意向, 心態
v. intr. - 搏動, 拍打, 跳動, 振動

idioms:

• feel someone's pulse    為某人診脈, 試探某人的意向
• pulse code    脈沖電碼
• pulse modulation    脈沖調變, 間歇載波
• take someone's pulse    為某人診脈, 試探某人的意向

2.
n. - 豆類植物, 豆

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 맥박, 파동
v. intr. - 맥이 뛰다, 고동하다

idioms:

• take someone's pulse    ~(아무의) 맥을 짚어 보다

2.
n. - 콩류, 콩

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 脈拍, 鼓動, 律動, パルス, 躍動, 意向, 豆類, 豆科の植物
v. - 脈打つ

idioms:

• feel/take one's pulse    人の脈をとる, 人の意向を探る
• pulse code    パルス符号
• pulse modulation    パルス変調

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نبض, خفقان القلب (فعل) ينبض, يخفق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פעימה, דופק, הרגשה או דיעה כללית, תנודה יחידה של קול, אור, זרם חשמלי וכו'‬
v. intr. - ‮פעם, הלם, דפק, זרם, רחש, שיגר פעימות‬
n. - ‮קטנית‬

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