Aerospace Physiology

Aerospace physiology (also known as flight or aviation physiology, human factors, or aeromedical factors) is the scientific discipline studying the effects of flight conditions on human physiological and cognitive systems teaching aviators to work and function at peak efficiency in the abnormal environment of flight. This information is introduced to pilots throughout their training and includes hypoxia, spatial disorientation, visual illusions, fatigue, trapped gases, and many others. Unfortunately, all of these issues still create incidents and accidents for pilots on a regular basis even today. The reason for this disparity is pilots may know about the information but fail to understand it completely. This book will transform a pilot’s potential misinterpretation of this subject matter into definitive action on the flight deck. The most current, authoritative, and comprehensive resource on this critical subject is Aerospace Physiology: Aeromedical and Human Performance Factors in Aviation (Second Edition). This book provides professional-grade information for enhancing safety-of-flight for all pilot experience levels. The book was written for use in academic settings and is currently the preferred text on flight physiology for the world-renowned University of North Dakota’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, plus other university aviation programs. The book’s twenty-two chapters follow a logical presentation format, with each chapter thoroughly discussing the topic in understandable language, followed by core competency questions. Each topic details the environmental causes, potential physiological & cognitive responses, plus effective and proven anticipation & mitigation strategies. The book uses the most recent research and experience-based information combined with current aviation incidents and accidents that illustrate how these issues present themselves in realistic flight environments, followed by discussions on how those events may have been prevented. The information in this book is based on Mr. Martin’s thirty years of military and civilian aviation experience, as well as modeled after the US Air Force’s Physiological Training Program for pilots and the comprehensive European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) flight physiology human performance standards. Using Aerospace Physiology: Aeromedical and Human Performance Factors for Pilots (Second Edition) as your learning or teaching resource will elevate your standard of training to its highest levels. The book is essential for all student pilots, certified flight instructors, and licensed private and professional pilots.

This book provides a unique, authoritative and detailed examination of the physiological and clinical consequences of human exposure to high G forces. Pilots of military fast jets, civilian aerobatic pilots and astronauts during the launch and re-entry phases of spaceflight are frequently and repetitively exposed to high G forces, for which the human body is not fundamentally designed. The book examines not only the nature of the high G environment, but the physiological effects of exposure to high G on the various systems of the human body. In particular, the susceptibility of the human cardiovascular system to high G is considered in detail, since G-Induced Loss of Consciousness (G-LOC) is a serious hazard for high G pilots. Additionally, the factors that influence tolerance to G and the emerging scientific evidence of physiological adaptation to high G are examined, as are the various countermeasures and techniques that have been developed over the years to protect pilots from the potentially adverse consequences of high G flight, such as the G-suit and positive pressure breathing. The accumulated knowledge of human exposure to high G is drawn together within High G Flight, resulting in a definitive volume on the physiological effects of high G and their countermeasures.

Now in its Fourth Edition with a new editorial team, this comprehensive text addresses all medical and public health issues involved in the care of crews, passengers, and support personnel of aircraft and space vehicles. Coverage includes human physiology under flight conditions, clinical medicine in the aerospace environment, and the impact of the aviation industry on global public health. This edition features new chapters on radiation, toxicology and microbiology, dental considerations in aerospace medicine, women's health issues, commercial human space flight, space exploration, and unique aircraft including parachuting. Other highlights include significant new information on respiratory diseases, cardiovascular medicine, infectious disease transmission, and human response to acceleration.

As space medicine evolved from the late 1950s onward, the need arose for a ready reference for students and practitioners on the basic concepts of this new specialty. Through three editions edited by leaders in the development of space medicine, this classic text has met the need. This fourth edition of Space Physiology and Medicine provides succinct, evidence-based summaries of the current knowledge base in space medicine and serves as a source of information on the space environment, responses, and practices. Additionally, there is extensive online material available for each chapter, featuring overviews and self-study questions.