Pedro Francisco da Costa Alvarenga
Pedro Francisco da Costa Alvarenga was a Brazilian-born Portuguese physician. He taught Materia Medica at the and left several works dealing chiefly with cardiology. He was a founder and main editor of the Gazeta Médica de Lisboa.
He became notable for his clinical work during the cholera morbus and yellow fever epidemics in Lisbon in 1856 and 1857, respectively. Alvarenga also introduced the sphygmograph, the first non-intrusive device used to estimate blood pressure, to Portugal.
Alvarenga discovered the double crural murmur, a sign of aortic insufficiency, almost a decade before Duroziez.
Distinctions
National orders
- Knight of the Order of the Tower and Sword
- Commander of the Order of Christ
- Officer of the Order of Saint James of the Sword
Foreign orders
- Commander of the Order of Leopold
- Commander of the Order of Charles III
- Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic