High Altitude Physiology And Medicine

HE history of high-altitude physiology and medicine is such a rich and T colorful topic that it is perhaps surprising that no one has undertaken a comprehensive account before. There are so many interesting ramifications, from the early balloonists to the various high-altitude expeditions, culminating in the great saga of climbing Mt. Everest without supplementary oxygen. Underpinning this variety is the basic biological challenge of hypoxia and the ways organisms adapt to it, a subject that is of key importance in medicine and many other life sciences, encountered as it is by organisms throughout the animal kingdom. I hope that this book will be of interest to a wide range of people, from biologists and physiologists to pulmonologists and others who manage patients with hypoxemia. The topic should also appeal to those who love the mountains including trekkers, skiers, climbers, and mountaineers. The book begins with a short introductory chapter to set the scene for the non-scientist. It then follows a general chronological sequence beginning with the Greeks and ending with contemporary events. In some places, however some compromises have been made to group together areas of related interest. For example, in Chapter 4 the controversy about oxygen secretion is traced from the 1870s to the 1930s and includes the Anglo-American Pikes Peak Ex pedition of 1911 and the International High-Altitude Expedition to Cerro de Pasco, Peru during 1921-1922. It makes sense to consider these events together.

This pre-eminent work has developed over six editions in response to man's attempts to climb higher and higher unaided, and to spend more time at altitude for both work and recreation. Building on this established reputation, the new and highly experienced authors provide a fully revised and updated text that will help doctors continue to improve the health and safety of all people who visit, live or work in the cold, thin air of high mountains. The sixth edition remains invaluable for any doctor accompanying an expedition or advising patients on a visit to altitude, those specialising in illness and accidents in high places, and for physicians and physiologists who study our dependence on oxygen and the adaptation of the body to altitude.

Easy to use, and useful when kept close at hand in the room where you work. The book is a pleasure to read: the style elegant and authoritative.' Lancet '...this book is a wonderful reference to enable primary physicians to be informed about their patients.' Annals of Internal Medicine Universally used across the world by genetic counsellors, medical geneticists and clinicians alike, Harper's Practical Genetic Counselling has established itself as the essential guide to counselling those at risk from inherited disorders. Increasingly, common disorders are known to have a genetic component and this book provides invaluable and up to date guidance through the profusion of new information in this area and the associated psychosocial and ethical considerations and concerns. Within its established, tried and trusted framework, the book contains new chapters on: laboratory methods, new genetic sequencing techniques and the applications of genome-wide SNP association studies, genetic susceptibility, cross cultural aspects and the genetic counselling process. It has expand chapters on genetic screening and screening of newborn, treatment techniques and rational approaches to treatment, non-Mendelian inheritance, free fetal DNA in prenatal screening and diagnosis. Key features: - Fully updated to provide the very latest information when in a busy consulting room or clinic - Clear and authoritative advice applicable to everyday clinical practice - Reflects the rapid development of knowledge in this area, including the implications of the human genome project and related technology The eighth edition of this popular, best selling text continues to be an essential source of reference for trainee and practitioner genetic counsellors, medical geneticists and clinicians. Also it provides valuable background for specialist nurses, counsellors, social scientists, ethicists as well as genetics laboratory staff.

High altitude physiology and medicine has again become important. The excep tional achievements of mountaineers who have climbed nearly all peaks over 8,000 m without breathing equipment raise the question of maximal adaptation ca pacity of man to low oxygen pressures. More importantly, the increase in tourism in the Andes and the Himalayas brings over 10,000 people to sites at altitudes above 4,000 and 5,000 m each year. At such heights several kinds of high alti tude diseases are likely to occur, and these complications require detailed medical investigations. Medical authorities need to inform both mountaineers and tourists as to how great a physical burden can be taken in the mountain environment without risk to health. Physicians need to know what kind of prophylaxis is to be employed at high altitudes to prevent the development of diseases and what therapeutic measures should be used once high altitude diseases have occurred. Moreover, the physical condition of the indigenous population living at higher altitudes such as the Andes and the Himalayas, who are exposed continuously to the stress of high altitude, requires our attention. We have become familiar with symptoms characteristic of chronic high-altitude disease: under special conditions this popu lation has a tendency to develop pulmonary hypertension, which is associated with pulmonary edema, pulmonary congestion, and right heart failure.

Hypoxia remains a constant threat throughout life. It is for this reason that the International Hypoxia Society strives to maintain a near quarter century tradition of presenting a stimulating blend of clinical and basic science discussions. International experts from many fields have focused on the state-of-the-art discoveries in normal and pathophysiological responses to hypoxia. Topics in this volume include gene-environment interactions, a theme developed in both a clinical context regarding exercise and hypoxia, as well as in native populations living in high altitudes. Furthermore, experts in the field have combined topics such as skeletal muscle angiogenesis and hypoxia, high altitude pulmonary edema, new insights into the biology of the erythropoietin receptor, and the latest advances in cardiorespiratory control in hypoxia. This volume explores the fields of anatomy, cardiology, biological transport, and biomedical engineering among many others.

Easy to use, and useful when kept close at hand in the room where you work. The book is a pleasure to read: the style elegant and authoritative.' Lancet '...this book is a wonderful reference to enable primary physicians to be informed about their patients.' Annals of Internal Medicine Universally used across the world by genetic counsellors, medical geneticists and clinicians alike, Harper's Practical Genetic Counselling has established itself as the essential guide to counselling those at risk from inherited disorders. Increasingly, common disorders are known to have a genetic component and this book provides invaluable and up to date guidance through the profusion of new information in this area and the associated psychosocial and ethical considerations and concerns. Within its established, tried and trusted framework, the book contains new chapters on: laboratory methods, new genetic sequencing techniques and the applications of genome-wide SNP association studies, genetic susceptibility, cross cultural aspects and the genetic counselling process. It has expand chapters on genetic screening and screening of newborn, treatment techniques and rational approaches to treatment, non-Mendelian inheritance, free fetal DNA in prenatal screening and diagnosis. Key features: - Fully updated to provide the very latest information when in a busy consulting room or clinic - Clear and authoritative advice applicable to everyday clinical practice - Reflects the rapid development of knowledge in this area, including the implications of the human genome project and related technology The eighth edition of this popular, best selling text continues to be an essential source of reference for trainee and practitioner genetic counsellors, medical geneticists and clinicians. Also it provides valuable background for specialist nurses, counsellors, social scientists, ethicists as well as genetics laboratory staff.

Leading authorities on high-altitude physiology contribute to this work, which is divided into three sections: Man at Extreme Altitude; Sleep and Restoration at High Altitude; and Physiology of Permanent Residents of High Altitude. Based on a symposium on physiology at high altitude sponsored by the American Physiological Society, the volume includes several chapters on the achievements of the 1981 American Medical Research Expedition to Mt. Everest, where the first physiological measurements at altitudes above 8,000 meters were recorded. With growing interest in the study of human performance in these conditions, this text marks a lasting achievement in high-altitude physiology.

This book discusses the technical changes that take place at high altitude, and reasons in a down-to-earth way how these situations can be sensibly handled. The authors are climbing doctors with first-hand experience of altitude medicine.