Korotkoff sounds /kôrot″kôf/ [Nickolai Korotkoff, Russian physician, 1874–1920] , sounds heard during the taking of a blood pressure reading using a sphygmomanometer and stethoscope. The sphygmomanometer is inflated enough to collapse an artery. As air is released from the cuff, pressure on the artery is reduced, and the blood is heard pulsing through the collapsed vessel. See also blood pressure, diastole, sphygmomanometer, systole.
