pulsatile, a.
(ˈpʌlsətɪl, -aɪl)
Also 6 -yle, 7 -il.
[f. L. type *pulsātilis, f. pulsāre, pulsāt-: see prec. and -ile.]
1. Anat. and Physiol. Having the capacity or property of pulsating or throbbing, as the heart, an artery, a tumour, etc.; exhibiting pulsation.
† pulsatile vein, old name for an artery, spec. the aorta.
| 1541 R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg. H j b, The braunche of the vayne pulsatyle that commeth fro the left syde. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. i. 11 You could no sooner press this Pulsatile Tumour with your Fingers, but [etc.]. 1858 H. Spencer Ess. I. 332 Every heart is at first a mere pulsatile sac. 1872 Mivart Elem. Anat. x. (1873) 432 Such pulsatile structures are called lymphatic hearts. |
b. Of, or characterized by, pulsation; pulsatory.
| 1684 J. P. tr. Fambresarius' Art Physic i. 64 Under the Pulsatil Actions are comprehended the Motions of the heart. 1728 Nicholls in Phil. Trans. XXXV. 444 Such a Tumor will rather have a pulsatile Dilatation, than a Pulsation, for its true Diagnostick. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 647 Instances..of the common tendency towards ‘pulsatile or rhythmic activity’ manifested by all living matter. |
2. Of a musical instrument: Played by striking or percussion; percussive: see percussion 2 c.
| 1769 Mus. Dict. 194 (T.) The rattle, among the ancients, is a musical instrument of the pulsatile kind. 1864 Engel Mus. Anc. Nat. 102 The Assyrians employed in their musical performances stringed, wind, and pulsatile instruments in combination. 1887 Athenæum 5 Nov. 612/3 The ‘pulsatile instruments covered with skin’ begin with the hymnal Mridanga, said to be invented by Brahma himself, and its modern form, the Bánya and Tabla. |
Hence pulsatility (-ˈtɪlɪtɪ), the quality of being pulsatile (sense 1).
| 1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. I. 243/1 The distinguishing characteristic of the third form of nævus is its pulsatility. Ibid. 460/2 A pulsatility scarcely inferior to that of an aneurism. 1930 Amer. Jrnl. Physiol. XCI. 716 The venous return to the chest must show a pulsatility which is nearly synchronous with the pulsatile outflow. 1977 Lancet 3 Sept. 490/2 They observed that the peak venous flow can be increased seven-fold, and its pulsatility thirty fold. |