Pulse



A pulse is the medical term used to describe the throbbing of the blood arteries, as determined by rate at which a heart beats, and level of blood pressure.

Indicator of life
When Noonian Soong created Data, among the Humanesque traits he was given was a pulse, which is created by his circulatory system, which produces biochemical lubricants, and regulates his micro-hydraulic power. 

If an individual is not respiring, checking for a pulse is generally a good indicator that an individual is still alive. 

When Chancellor Gorkon was shot aboard Kronos One, Doctor Leonard McCoy begged to help. After having checked and determined that the Chancellor had a pulse, he announced that it was safe to move him up onto the table. 

After Miles O'Brien traveled to the future and witnessed his own death, he quickly checked his future self's pulse to find that he was dead. Later, when he returned to the present, O'Brien would reveal to Dr. Julian Bashir that the experience left him feeling "like someone just walked over my grave. I've been close to death in my career. But there was something about watching myself being killed, feeling my own neck for a pulse that wasn't there..."

Pulse rate
A pulse of 242, and blood pressure that is "practically nonexistent," is considered "perfectly normal" for a Vulcan. 

A patient suffering from a tearing of the middle meningeal artery may experience a slowing pulse, low respiratory rate, and coma. 

When Elim Garak, who suffered from claustrophobia, was forced into a claustrophobic situation in order to save himself, and several others captured by the Jem'Hadar, it was observed by Dr. Julian Bashir that his pulse was racing, and based on his observation, he didn't even want to think about Garak's blood pressure. 

When Geordi La Forge was testing the interface probe in 2370, Dr. Beverly Crusher noted that his pulse was up, after the probe's signal strength was set to 75 percent of tolerance, noting that the reason for this was due to his nervous system getting used to the input levels. La Forge, however, explained that the reason his pulse was up, was because he was excited, that the experience was "like being on a roller coaster, or a first date."

When Montgomery Scott invited Carolyn Palamas for some coffee, James T. Kirk asked Dr. McCoy, "could you get that excited over a cup of coffee?" McCoy, who also observed Scott's infatuation with Palamas responded, "even from here I can tell his pulse rate's up."

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Puls