Main description:

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.

Contents:

Foreword. Acknowledgments. History of high altitude medicine and physiology. THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS PEOPLE . The atmosphere. Geography. High altitude residents. Travelers and workers at high altitude. Genetics and genomics of exposure to high altitude. PHYSIOLOGIC RESPONSES TO HYPOXIA. Acclimatization. Pulmonary gas exchange. Control of breathing. Oxygen affinity and acid-base balance. Cardiovascular system. Central nervous system. Hematologic responses. Peripheral tissues. Energy balance and metabolism. Endocrine and metabolism. Sleep. Exercise. Physiology of extreme altitude. CLINICAL HIGH ALTITUDE MEDICINE. Acute mountain sickness. High altitude cerebral edema. High altitude pulmonary edema. Other medical conditions that occur at high altitude. Chronic altitude illness. High altitude travel with preexisting medical conditions. Children, the elderly, and women at high altitude. Other environmental illnesses in the mountains. Index.