There is nothing characteristic about the pulse of a person suffering from arteriosclerosis, except it be the difference in the pulse of high tension and of low tension. The pulse of high tension has a gradual rise, a more or less rounded apex, and the dicrotic wave is slightly marked and occurs about half-way down on the descending limb. In arteriosclerosis with low tension the radial artery is usually so rigid that very little pulse wave can be obtained. The general form of a low tension pulse is a sharp upstroke, a pointed summit, and a secondary wave on the base line, which corresponds to the dicrotic wave. Such a pulse can be easily palpated, and is known as a dicrotic pulse. However, such a pulse can occur only when the artery still retains all or a large part of its elasticity; hence in arteriosclerotic low tension we would never see such a pulse as the typical dicrotic. =The Venous Pulse= It would carry us too far to discuss fully the character of the venous pulse, but a brief summary of the essential features of the normal venous pulse is presented. The venous pulse is a term used to express the tracing obtained from the internal or external jugular vein at the root of the neck. Normally a very characteristic curve is produced, which can be readily analyzed into a series of waves corresponding to the fluctuations in the cardiac cycle. To understand these waves and their values, the accompanying figure is helpful. (Fig. 35.) [Illustration: Fig. 35.--Semidiagrammatic representation of the events in the cardiac cycle: Jug., pulse in the jugular vein; Aur., contraction of auricle; V. Pr., intraventricular pressure; Pap. M., contraction of the papillary muscles; Car., carotid pulse. Below are given the times of occurrence of the heart sounds and of the opening and closing of the heart valves. (After Hirschfelder.)] Bachmann summarizes the normal waves in the venous pulse tracing as follows: