Marey, Étienne-Jules

Étienne-Jules Marey, (born March 5, 1830, Beaune, Fr.—died May 15, 1904, Paris), French physiologist who invented the sphygmograph, an instrument for recording graphically the features of the pulse and variations in blood pressure. His basic instrument, with modifications, is still used today.

Marey wrote extensively on the circulation of the blood, cholera, terrestrial and aerial locomotion, experimental physiology, and graphic methods in physiology. He also contributed to the development of the motion picture. To study the flight of birds, he invented a camera in 1882 with magazine plates that recorded a series of photographs; the pictures could be combined to represent movements. In 1894 he adapted the motion-picture camera to the microscope.