I dunno, the carotid Artery is in the same place in mammals, marsupials included, and nearly every mammal has a pulse behind the ear. I don’t think Wombats have a pulse at the wrist, but then again no-one really uses the wrist pulse anymore, outside of actors playing pre 1950’s doctors. Then again perhaps It’s just the doctors I happen to get.
Pulse points are generally places where an artery passes over bone and near the skin. The carotid is a notable exception in that it passes over cartilage rather than bone. There’s actually two pulse points in the wrist: the radial and ulnar, named, of course, for the bones of the forearm. The radial pulse is the one you generally see in those TV shows. It’s still used, especially if one is trying to take a blood pressure without benefit of a stethoscope. As a former EMT, I can testify that you can’t always hear what you’re listening for in a moving ambulance. Using the radial pulse only gives you the systolic pressure (that’s the higher number), but if you’re assessing shock, that’s all you need.
Other pulse points are in the groin, behind the knee, inside the elbow (where the stethoscope goes when checking blood pressure), on top of the foot, and inside the back of the ankle.
Actually, there’s another reason for checking the radial pulse, and it’s the same reason one might check a pulse in the foot. If you know the patient’s heart is beating fine, you might check a pulse in an extremity to assess how well the blood is circulating. Again, my experience as an EMT would lead me to expect this when the patient has an injured limb, but my doctor surprised me at a recent exam by going for a foot pulse. I’d just been diagnosed with diabetes, and the doctor was checking for diabetes related circulation issues.
ty for the info Inquisitive Raven: my medical knowledge is…erratic… and I appreciate any info people will give to improve it. Having done quite a lot of my original archaeology degree on forensics and a lot of the rest on mammal osteology I’m a good anatomist, but my practical experience is entirely of humans and animals well past the point where a paramedic could help them, sometimes by a couple of thousand years. Whilst we may be able to tell you quite a lot about their medical history, if someone has come to the attention of a osteoarchaeologist, we don’t generally take a pulse.
“If you didn’t want to go swimming, you shouldn’t have tunneled under the lake!” LOL!!!
If you ever feel the need to compile such a thing, I would love a book of wombat sayings.
That sounds like a saying born of experience.
Yes, a book of wombat sayings! That’s a great idea!
Maybe call it, “Wombat Wisdom and Witticisms”.
😉
I’d buy it.
“Wombat Wisdom and Witticisms 2: More Marsupial Mantras”
Whats more i can see the cover in my mind.
😆
It’s a good thing she learned how to take human pulses at some point, since wombats probably don’t have the same places to find them.
I dunno, the carotid Artery is in the same place in mammals, marsupials included, and nearly every mammal has a pulse behind the ear. I don’t think Wombats have a pulse at the wrist, but then again no-one really uses the wrist pulse anymore, outside of actors playing pre 1950’s doctors. Then again perhaps It’s just the doctors I happen to get.
Pulse points are generally places where an artery passes over bone and near the skin. The carotid is a notable exception in that it passes over cartilage rather than bone. There’s actually two pulse points in the wrist: the radial and ulnar, named, of course, for the bones of the forearm. The radial pulse is the one you generally see in those TV shows. It’s still used, especially if one is trying to take a blood pressure without benefit of a stethoscope. As a former EMT, I can testify that you can’t always hear what you’re listening for in a moving ambulance. Using the radial pulse only gives you the systolic pressure (that’s the higher number), but if you’re assessing shock, that’s all you need.
Other pulse points are in the groin, behind the knee, inside the elbow (where the stethoscope goes when checking blood pressure), on top of the foot, and inside the back of the ankle.
Actually, there’s another reason for checking the radial pulse, and it’s the same reason one might check a pulse in the foot. If you know the patient’s heart is beating fine, you might check a pulse in an extremity to assess how well the blood is circulating. Again, my experience as an EMT would lead me to expect this when the patient has an injured limb, but my doctor surprised me at a recent exam by going for a foot pulse. I’d just been diagnosed with diabetes, and the doctor was checking for diabetes related circulation issues.
ty for the info Inquisitive Raven: my medical knowledge is…erratic… and I appreciate any info people will give to improve it. Having done quite a lot of my original archaeology degree on forensics and a lot of the rest on mammal osteology I’m a good anatomist, but my practical experience is entirely of humans and animals well past the point where a paramedic could help them, sometimes by a couple of thousand years. Whilst we may be able to tell you quite a lot about their medical history, if someone has come to the attention of a osteoarchaeologist, we don’t generally take a pulse.