MODEL RELEASED. Blood pressure measurement. Doctor taking the blood pressure of a man during a check- up. The doctor is using a sphygmomanometer, wrapped around the man's arm, while listening to his blood flow through a stethoscope. The sphygmomanometer consists of a pressure gauge and cuff that is inflated around the patient's upper arm until it stops blood flow. The cuff is slowly deflated until blood flow resumes and the pressure shown on the gauge is the systolic pressure of the pumping heart. Further cuff deflation gives the diastolic pressure of the relaxed heart between pumps. Blood pressure is an important measure of bodily health.