It is an old test of capillary fragility, carried out by raising the venous pressure in the forearm through
either inflation of a blood pressure cuff or the closing of a tourniquet. The test is positive when it causes
petechial eruptions (presumably because of fragile capillaries bursting open). It is named after the two
physicians who first described it at the turn of the century: the German Theodore Rumpel and the
American Carl Leede. Yet, it is often referred to as the Hess test, from Alfred Hess (1875–1933), the
American who first noticed it while treating scorbutic children.
either inflation of a blood pressure cuff or the closing of a tourniquet. The test is positive when it causes
petechial eruptions (presumably because of fragile capillaries bursting open). It is named after the two
physicians who first described it at the turn of the century: the German Theodore Rumpel and the
American Carl Leede. Yet, it is often referred to as the Hess test, from Alfred Hess (1875–1933), the
American who first noticed it while treating scorbutic children.