A method is provided for blood pressure measurement by means of an inflatable cuff (50) applied to a limb of a vertebrate and pneumatically coupled to a first port (112A) and a second port (112B) of a blood pressure measurement apparatus (100). A pump (160) coupled to the second port inflates the cuff pneumatically. During an initial cuff inflation period, a first pressure sensor (180) pneumatically coupled to the first port senses a first pressure and a second pressure sensor (182) pneumatically coupled to the second port senses a second pressure. An analysis module (142) compares the magnitude of the first pressure to the magnitude of the second pressure to determine the relative relationship between the respective magnitudes of the first pressure and the second pressure. The relative relationship between these pressure may be used to determine whether a single lumen or dual lumen cuff is use, to determine whether the blood pressure measurement procedure selected is correct for the cuff actually in use, or to automatically select the proper blood pressure measurement procedure to be used for the actual cuff in use.