# Pulse in odd places

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulse-in-odd-places/162887>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 20, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulse-in-odd-places/162887 "2003-03-20T20:24:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SonOfArizona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SonOfArizona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SonOfArizona)\
**Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulse-in-odd-places/162887/1 "2003-03-20T20:24:34Z")

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What is the straight dope on feeling a pulse in an actual body part for a short period of time, not with your finger, but with that actual body part. Sometimes I might feel it in my lip or maybe in a finger, or if I have a really big pimple or something. Anybody know the reason for this?

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**Author:** ![not\_reaching](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c6cbf5/32.png) [@not\_reaching](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_reaching)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pulse-in-odd-places/162887/2 "2003-03-21T00:59:17Z")

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I can often feel my pulse in my ear, which the doc said was due to a narrow drainage canal. The ear fluid canal widens and presses on the neighboring artery. An artery that’s constricted will have to widen more than usual at every pulse passing through.