What is the nature of the pulse in a patient with significant aortic insufficiency?
In a classical case of aortic insufficiency, the pulse is “bounding.” It has an increased amplitude, and both a rapid upstroke and a rapid downstroke (see diagram). This is reflected by the traditional Latin appellation of “pulsus magnus (big) et celer (rapid).” In fact, the throbbing of the carotid pulses may be so marked that they are easily visible to the naked eye. Such throbbing carotids were emphasized by a 19th-century Irish physician, Sir Dominic Corrigan (1802-1880), therefore the eponym Corrigan pulse is often applied to this phenomenon. However, just to confuse matters, the term Corrigan pulse is also used as a synonym for a “bounding” or “collapsing” pulse (see below). Another interesting sign related to throbbing arteries in aortic insufficiency is de Musset’s or Musset’s sign. This is head-nodding that is synchronous with the pulse. It is named after a 19th-century French Romantic poet, Alfred de Musset (1810-1857), who suffered from the condition. The cause of his aortic
