A glass bowmeter (pulse measuring device); the device is a curved tube, sealed at each end; the tube is filled with an amber coloured liquid with a bubble in it; along the tube are a series of black and red dots (one red, four black, one red, four black, one red); there is a string tied on to the d…
A glass bowmeter (pulse measuring device); the device is a curved tube, sealed at each end; the tube is filled with an amber coloured liquid with a bubble in it; along the tube are a series of black and red dots (one red, four black, one red, four black, one red); there is a string tied on to the device.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
The donor first used this device during his medical studies at the University of Amsterdam (Universiteit van Amsterdam) in the late 1950s where Prof. J. G. G. Borst was faculty chairman; the donor believes everyone who wished to gradate used one and every clinical clerk, intern, and resident would carry one of these in their pocket with the string tied to a button on their jacket; Dr. Westenberg brought this instrument with him when he came to Canada in 1961 and used it for a while, although he believes this measure may not have been widely used beyond Prof. Borst and his students in Amsterdam.
Maker
Probably custom made at the University of Amsterdam.
The donor says these devices were used in the late 1950s, and he brought this one to Canada in 1961 and used it a few years later.
Material
glass: clear
liquid: amber
fabric: beige
Inscriptions
"WESTENBURG" hand printed on a piece of tape on the device
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-E6-7
Dimension Notes
Length 14.2 cm x Diam 1.0 cm
Condition Remarks
Some minor surface wear; the piece of tape is deteriorated.
Copy Type
Original
Reference Types
Person
Reference Comments
Dr. Hans Westenburg
Research Facts
The donor believes that Prof. J. G. G.Borst (best known for his low protein diet for people in acute renal failure) had these objects made up by one of his technicians; this devices was used to measure the height of a patient's jugular venous pressure; before the development of diuretics in the mid-1960s for patients suffering from renal failure, this instrument was a method of determining whether congestive heart failure was improving or deteriorating - an elevated jugular vein pulse could indicate a backup in the right atrium of the heart; one end was placed on the patient's sternal notch, about 5.0 cm above the right atrium in a person lying down - the other end would be placed on the highest point of the jugular vein in the anterior neck.