polycroticadj.
/ˌpɒlɪˈkrɒtɪk/, U.S. /ˌpɑliˈkrɑdɪk/ Medicine. Now rare or historical.
Of a pulse: having more than two beats; (of a sphygmographic tracing) having more than two peaks (in the declining wave). Cf. dicrotic adj., monocrotic adj. at mono- comb. form 1.
ΚΠ
1875 Lancet 30 Oct. 622/1 She had lost a deal of blood, the result of which was obvious in her feeble polycrotic pulse, exsanguine lips, and anæmic features.
1890 Cent. Dict. XVI. 4601/2 Polycrotic, having several beats; having several secondary waves: said of some pulses.
1967 Amer. Jrnl. Cardiol. 19 574/2 These showed a sharp ascent of the carotid pulse and a slow polycrotic decline.
1978 Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift 90 Suppl. No. 83 3 The polycrotic pulse form is characteristic of hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1875