The genesis of the aortic standing wave.

On the basis of observations of arterial pulse forms in anesthetized dogs, a hypothesis is developed to account for the genesis of the aortic standing wave which is responsible for the dicrotic characteristics of pulses recorded from the abdominal-femoral system. A sudden lowering of resistance to pulse wave propagation in the region of the diaphragm and an increase in resistance in the peripheral femoral bed produce reflections which, because of the equivalent wave-lengths of the thoracic and abdominal-femoral segments of the aortic system, create a resonant oscillation of the aortic blood column between the root of the aorta and the femoral bed.