Altitude Physiology (for Flight Paramedics) Flashcards
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| 166070807 | Troposphere | Lowest layer of the atmosphere, beginning at the Earth's surface, extending to 30,000 feet, or 11 miles. | 0 | |
| 152089048 | Physiologic (Efficient) Zone | Zone of the atmosphere in which the human body is well adapted; from sea level to 10,000 feet | 1 | |
| 389169282 | Charles' Law | "The volume of gas is directly proportional to the absolute temperature of the gas, given that the mass and pressure of the gas are held constant." | 2 | |
| 905277942 | Boyle's Law | "The volume of gas is inversely proportional to its pressure." | 3 | |
| 114510188 | Universal (or Ideal) Gas Law | Equation of state of a hypothetical "ideal" gas; a gas that obeys Boyle's Law, Charles' Law, and Avogadro's Law exactly. | 4 | |
| 806847776 | Dalton's Law | "As altitude increases, the total atmospheric pressure decreases [from 760 mmHg at sea level], as does the partial pressure of the atmospheric gas constituents. The percentages, or ratios of each gas to one another, remain constant, but their partial pressure decreases." | 5 | |
| 396833632 | Henry's Law | "The quantity of gas dissolved in a solution is directly proportional of the gas over the solution, provided the gas does not react chemically with the solution." | 6 | |
| 993235113 | Gay-Lussac's Law | "For a fixed amount of gas (fixed number of moles) at fixed volume, the pressure is proportional to the temperature." | 7 | |
| 28886298 | Graham's Law | "The relative rates of diffusion of gases under the same conditions of temperature and pressure are inversely proportional to the square roots of those of the density of those gases." | 8 | |
| 575437496 | Fick's Law | "The net diffusion rate of a gas across a fluid membrane is proportional to the difference in partial pressure, proportional to the area of the membrane, and inversely proportional to the thickness of that membrane." | 9 | |
| 548144449 | Avogadro's Law | "At the same temperature and pressures, an equal number of molecules of gas occupy the same volume." | 10 | |
| 231569806 | How does temperature change with increases in altitude? | For every 330 feet (100 meters) increase in altitude, there is a roughly 1ºC decrease in temperature | 11 | |
| 935214428 | Hypoxic hypoxia | Insufficient oxygen, or when conditions prevent the diffusion of oxygen from the lungs to the bloodstream. | 12 | |
| 402038586 | Hypemic hypoxia | Reduction in the oxygen carrying capacity or a decrease in the number of cells per unit of volume; may also be referred to as anemic hypoxia; may be caused by anemia, blood loss, hemoglobin abnormalities, use of certain drugs (nitrites, sulfanilamides), and intake of chemicals (carbon monoxide, cyanide) | 13 | |
| 390798067 | Histotoxic hypoxia | Tissues are unable to utilize an otherwise (presumably) adequate supply of oxygen from the bloodstream; venous oxygen saturation is higher than normal as oxygen is not "offloaded" at target tissues; may also be caused by carbon monoxide, cyanide poisoning, and cigarette smoking. | 14 | |
| 395008218 | Stagnant hypoxia | Oxygen carrying capacity of blood is adequate, but there is inadequate circulation to propel that oxygenated blood to target tissues. | 15 | |
| 589274791 | Indifferent (or asymptomatic) stage of hypoxia | Primary symptoms are a loss of depth or color perception, may occur at altitudes as low as 4,000 feet, SpO₂ usually within 90 - 95% | 16 | |
| 124915651 | Compensatory stage of hypoxia | In healthy people, this stage may occur at altitudes between 10,000 - 15,000 feet, compensation is increasing rate/depth of ventilation and cardiac output, SpO₂ usually within 80 - 90% | 17 | |
| 295136911 | Disturbance (or deterioration) stage of hypoxia | Occurs when compensatory mechanisms fail or are maximized and insufficient in healthy individuals, or acutely in unhealthy patients; SpO₂ usually within 70 - 80%, deterioration will continue of not recognized | 18 | |
| 285422951 | Critical stage of hypoxia | Terminal stage of hypoxia leading to death; almost completely incapacitated or unconscious at this stage; SpO₂ usually less than 70% | 19 | |
| 228561479 | Spatial disorientation | Stressor of flight; inability determine position, altitude, and motion relative to the surface of the Earth or significant fixed objects; significant factor in aircraft accidents | 20 | |
| 690205130 | What can aircraft vibration result in? | Can cause an increase in muscle activity to maintain posture and reduce the resonant amplification of the vibration through the body; leads to increased metabolic rate with peripheral vasoconstriction. | 21 | |
| 42367242 | Dysbarism | Expansion of gases in the body from decreased barometric pressure causes various manifestations | 22 | |
| 282258025 | Barotitus media | Middle ear issues or damage from barometric pressure changes | 23 | |
| 275671724 | Barodontalgia | Toothache that occurs during changes of barometric pressure; crew members with dental surgery should wait 48 - 72 hours before flying again | 24 | |
| 587682624 | Barogastralgia | Expansion of gases within the gastrointestinal tract that results in pain or discomfort | 25 | |
| 536570208 | Barosinusitis | Also called sinus block, is the occlusion of the paranasal sinuses caused by the pressure difference between the ambient atmosphere and that within the sinuses. | 26 | |
| 102826176 | When positive gravitational forces ("g-forces") are applied to a body region, blood and other body fluids are pulled _______ the tissues of that region | ...pulled TOWARDS the tissues of that region. | 27 | |
| 773811600 | What strategy should you use when transporting a patient by fixed-wing with suspected or proven ↑ ICP? | Try to position the patient's head to the front of the aircraft to prevent significant rises in ICP during takeoff. | 28 | |
| 25265589 | "DEATH" pneumonic, used to remember self-imposed stressors | Drugs, Exhaustion, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Hypoglycemia | 29 | |
| 344801132 | What is a significant impairment associated with the use of night vision goggles? | Impairment of depth perception | 30 | |
| 874854091 | Exposure to sounds louder than ___ decibels is not safe at any time and may lead to hearing loss? | 140 decibels | 31 | |
| 633828690 | What is the typical ambient noise level inside a rotor wing aircraft cabin? | 100 - 120 decibels | 32 | |
| 417814877 | What is the human range of hearing, in Hertz? | 20 - 20,000 Hertz | 33 | |
| 888844566 | Within the Hertz range of human hearing, what is the most sensitive range? | 200 - 6,800 Hertz | 34 |