Abstract
In the early summer of 1929 the writers, in connection with a joint study of parturition and the behavior of the new-born monkey at the Carnegie rhesus colony, recorded the pulse of 11 pregnant females and in 6 subjects were able to record the fetal pulse. To these we add some observations of Dr. R. R. Squier, who auscultated 2 pregnant females in 1930 (Nos. 39 and 51).
The procedure was as follows: The animal was caught with a net and held by pinning her elbows behind her back. It is important to note that a vigorous animal may do considerable running before she is caught. The captured animal was laid on her side on a table and after she had become quiet the experimenters took turns with the stethoscope, checking each other. The maternal pulse was first taken and then the stethoscope was placed over the animal's abdomen and the spot found where the fetal pulse was discernible. This varied greatly and seems to be, in the monkey, unpredictable. Certainly, if the optimum point depends on the position of the fetus its situation might be expected to vary greatly. The characteristic double click of the fetal heart beat was heard well; likewise occasionally the placental bruit.
As will be seen by the accompanying table, the maternal pulse ranged from 160 to 240, the fetal from 100 to 180, at periods from 3 to 32 days prior to parturition and at a copulation age of 129 to 163 days. The exceptional cases will be discussed separately. For the human being, cow and dog, Clark 1 quotes the following figures:
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