The mercury sphygmomanometer has been used to measure blood pressure for over a century (O'Brien 2000, Smith 2000), but due to the hazards associated with mercury spillage, there is increasing reliance on other methods, such as automatic oscillometric blood pressure monitors and aneroid sphygmomanometers. Within the theatre and recovery areas, the oscillometric method appears to be most common (Ramsey 1991).
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