Purchase Solution

Adaptation and Altitude Sickness ("Chronic Mountain Sickness")

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

Individual who remain at high altitude for too long can develop chronic mountain sickness. It is characterized by the following clinical sequence: 1. an extremely high hematocrit, 2. an elevated pulmonary arterial pressure and 3. an enlarged right side of the heart. As it progresses, congestive heart failure and death ensues unless the person is removed to a lower altitude. Describe how the body normally adapts to elevated altitude and the causes for the sequence of events associated with chronic mountain sickness.

Purchase this Solution
Solution Summary

Adaption and altitude sickness is examined.

Solution Preview

Normally, the body reacts to high altitudes (and lower oxygen levels) via increasing the amount of red blood cells in blood circulation. By doing so, each unit of blood being pushed towards the lung will have a higher capacity to carry oxygen than normal blood, meaning that the metabolic demands of the body are still met simply by increasing the number of oxygen-carriers being delivered to sources of demand.

With regards to the sequence of altitude sickness:

1) Extremely high hematocrit

Hematocrit is the measure of packed cell volume (PCV) to plasma (the actual fluid component of blood) ratio. The higher the hematocrit, the higher the PCV, which means the blood contains more cells than normal. As discussed above, this is from the ...

Purchase this Solution
Free BrainMass Quizzes
Hemophilia: Fact or Fiction

Do you know the truth about hemophilia? Test your knowledge here.

Do You Know Your Macromolecules?

This quiz will assess your knowledge of the macromolecules that are important to living things.

How Much Do You Know About Genetic Inheritance?

Most of us studied the basics of dominant and recessive genes at some point. However, genetics are much more complicated than this. How far beyond the basics does your knowledge go?

Basic Concepts in Neuroscience

This quiz provides a review of the basic concepts in neuroscience.

Basic Immunology Quiz

Intro to immuno quiz. Covers the basics of immunology and recognition of foreign substances by the body.

View More Free Quizzes
Related BrainMass Solutions

  • Motion Sickness: Smell and Movement Sensations

    When CNG A4 is knocked out, adaptation is slowed. Motion Sickness is why you feel sick.

  • The US health care as the sickness care system

    The US health care as the sickness care system A sickness system primarily focuses on providing care and treatment to people after they become sick and not before.

  • Statistics Practice problems: P3, P4, P5, P6

    Pain was measured using the visual analog scale, and the results given below are among the results obtained in the study (based on data from Bipolar Permanent Magnets for the Treatment of Chronic Lower Back Pain: A Pilot Study by Collacott, Zimmerman,

  • Jets at High Altitudes

    It is required when an aircraft reaches high altitudes, because the natural atmospheric pressure is too low to allow people to absorb sufficient oxygen, leading to altitude sickness and ultimately hypoxia.

  • Signs and Symptoms of Radiation Sickness

    537263 Signs and Symptoms of Radiation Sickness Discuss the signs and symptoms of radiation sickness. 233 word essay with reference.

  • Critical Thinking Techniques

    At this point I decided to talk it over with my husband and test my theory by implementing a few motion sickness prevention strategies.

  • clinical disorders that are culture-specific

    Its symptoms include general weakness, loss of appetite, a feeling of suffocation, recurring nightmares, and a pervasive feeling of terror. Native Americans usually buried their dead above the ground. A symptom of "ghost sickness" is suffocation.

  • Determining Money Spent on Medical Care

    Lastly, consider the possibility that sickness is a deterioration of health, and health has various factors that can be improved via preventative care - lifestyle changes such as exercise, proper diet can drastically reduce the chances of sickness and

  • Discussion about American Nutrition

    They are stuffed and overflowing. The healthcare system is falling apart. Doctors and nurses are burning out at record numbers. They can't keep up and they can't cope. Sickness has become a way of life.

View More Related Solutions