This book is a collection of scientific papers presented at the XVIII International Congress of Aviation and Space Medicine held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 15-18 September 1969. It is dedicated to General E. de Vries and Dr. K. Vaan drager, President and Vice-President of the Congress, who wished that this unsur passed exchange of scientific information by distinguished authorities of the inter national aerospace medical community be made readily available to all as a valuable source of information. I am deeply grateful to the Congress Committee for honoring me with this editorship, to the authors for submitting generally excellent manuscripts and to the publisher for compiling a book of such high quality. This book contains both Main Theme papers, given by invited lecturers, and selected Free Communications at the Congress. Main Themes were 'physiology of atmospheric pressure' (papers by Ernsting, Meijne, Sluijter, Behnke), 'vestibular problems in aviation medicine' (papers by Melvill Jones, Benson, Oosterveld, Groen, Guedry and Benson, Brandt, Henriksson and Nilsson), 'aviation and cardiology' (papers by Blackburn, Wood) and 'space medicine' (paper by Berry). The Free Communications herein focus on many areas of continuing and timely interest to clinicians and investigators in aerospace medicine. Selection and health maintenance of pilots, medical problems in airline passengers, use of the centrifuge as a therapeutic device, and circadian rhythm effects on man's psychophysiological state receive particular attention.

Encompassing all occupants of aircraft and spacecraft—passengers and crew, military and civilian—Fundamentals of Aerospace Medicine, 5th Edition, addresses all medical and public health issues involved in this unique medical specialty. Comprehensive coverage includes everything from human physiology under flight conditions to the impact of the aviation industry on public health, from an increasingly mobile global populace to numerous clinical specialty considerations, including a variety of common diseases and risks emanating from the aerospace environment. This text is an invaluable reference for all students and practitioners who engage in aeromedical clinical practice, engineering, education, research, mission planning, population health, and operational support.

Over the years, a large body of knowledge has developed regarding the ways in which space flight affects the health of the personnel involved. Now, for the first time, this clinical knowledge on how to diagnose and treat conditions that either develop during a mission or because of a mission has been compiled by Drs. Michael Barratt and Sam L. Pool of the NASA/Johnson Space Center. Complete with detailed information on the physiological and psychological affects of space flight as well as how to diagnose and treat everything from dental concerns to decompression to dermatological problems encountered, this text is a must have for all those associated with aerospace medicine.

During the past several years there has been a shortage of flight opportunities for biological and medical projects. And those that were available usually had severe restrictions on instrumentation, number of subjects, duration, time allotted for performing the experiments, a possibility for repetition of experiments. It is our hope and expectation that this will change once the international Space Station is in full operation. The advantages of a permanent space station, already demonstrated by the Russian Mir station, are continuous availability of expert crew and a wide range of equipment, possibility of long-term experiments where this is waranted, increased numbers of subjects through larger laboratory space, proper controls in the large 1-G centrifuge, easier repeatability of experiments when needed. The limited number of flight opportunities during recent years probably explains why it has taken so long to acquire a sufficient number of high quality contributions for this seventh volume of Advances in Space Biology and Medicine. While initially the series wassailed at annually appearing volumes, we are now down to a biannual appearance. Hopefully, it will be possible to return to annual volumes in the future when results from space station experimentation at beginning to pour in. The first three chapters of this volume deal with muscle. Fejtek and Wassersug provide a survey of all studies on muscle of rodents flown in space, and include an interesting demography of this aspect of space research. Riley reviews our current knowledge of the effects of long-term spaceflight and re-entry on skeletal muscle, and considers the questions still to be answered before we can be satisfied that long-term space missions, such as on the space station, can be safely undertaken. Stein reviews our understanding of the nutritional and hormonal aspects of muscle loss in spaceflight, and concludes that the protein loss in space could be deleterious to health during flight and after return. Strollo summarizes our understanding of the major endocrine systems on the ground, then considers what we know about their functioning in space, concluding that there is much to be learned about the changes taking place during spaceflight. The many problems of providing life support (oxygen regeneration and food supply) during extended stay on the Moon, on Mars, or in space by means of plant cultivation are discussed by Salisbury. The challenges of utilizing electrophoresis in microgravity for the separation of cells and proteins are illustrated and explained by Bauer and colleagues. Finally, the chapter on teaching of space life sciences by Schmitt shows that this field of science has come of age, but also that its multidisciplinary character poses interesting challenges to teaching it.

This highly practical guide is ideal for any medical professional who deals with the aerospace environment or is involved in the healthcare of aircrew or individuals preparing for or returning from aerospace travel. The book covers all the main aspects of aerospace medicine, including the salient physiology and clinical aspects in note form for rapid assimilation, and makes plentiful use of figures, algorithms and tables throughout. Key Features: • Comprehensive covering all aspects of clinical aerospace medicine and relevant physiology • Note-based for rapid reference in the clinical setting • Highly practical with illustrations and tables supporting the text throughout • From a highly experienced international team of editors and contributors • Ideal as a handbook companion, complementing the definitive reference Ernsting’s Aviation and Space Medicine, for use ‘on the go’ The book will be an indispensable companion to all civil and military aviation medicine practitioners including those preparing for professional qualifying examinations, and a useful aid for other physicians with an interest in aviation medicine or who are required to inform patients regularly regarding the likely effects of flight, including family practitioners and hospital doctors, physiologists with an interest in the area and occupational and public health personnel.