Which artery is the head or bell of the stethoscope placed on when taking a blood pressure reading?

• A. Brachial artery
• B. Carotid artery
• C. Radial artery
• D. Temporal artery

Answer: (A)

To hear the blood pressure clearly, you listen over a major upper-arm artery that can be reliably compressed by the cuff—the brachial artery. Find it in the antecubital fossa (inside the elbow), just medial to the biceps tendon, beneath the cuff. As you release the cuff, the Korotkoff sounds travel through the brachial artery to the stethoscope, allowing you to detect when the sounds start (systolic) and disappear (diastolic).

The other arteries aren’t used for this purpose: the carotid and temporal arteries aren’t practical or safe for listening to cuff-related sounds, and the radial artery is on the wrist and typically used to palpate the pulse or estimate systolic pressure, not for standard auscultation.