Diastolic and systolic blood pressure measurements in monkeys determined by a noninvasive tail-cuff technique.

A noninvasive method to determine systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure values in rhesus monkeys is described and evaluated. Simultaneous measurements of abdonimal aortic and tail-cuff pressures were compared for unanesthetized, anesthetized, hemorrhaged, and methoxamine-treated animals. Data indicated that correlation between direct and indirect methods were highly significant (r greater than or equal to 0.94); the mean differences found between the two measurements were less than or equal to 8 mm. Hg, with the exception of the methoxamine-treated groups. Reliability of the technique was considerably reduced following administration of this drug.