Aeromedical factors Questions and answers
hypoxia - ✅✅"reduced oxygen" or "not enough oxygen."
hypoxic hypoxia - ✅✅a result of insufficient oxygen available to the body as a whole
hypemic hypoxia - ✅✅occurs when the blood is not able to -take up- oxygen in order to transport a
sufficient amount of oxygen to the cells in the body
stagnant hypoxia - ✅✅"not flowing"; results when the oxygen-rich blood in the lungs is not moving,
for one reason or another, to the tissues that need it
histotoxic hypoxia - ✅✅the inability of the cells to effectively use oxygen
Cyanosis (blue fingernails and lips)
Headache
Decreased reaction time
Impaired judgment
Euphoria
Visual impairment
Drowsiness
Lightheaded or dizzy sensation
Tingling in fingers and toes
Numbness - ✅✅symptoms of hypoxia
hyperventilation - ✅✅excessive rate and depth of respiration leading to abnormal loss of carbon
dioxide from the blood
Visual impairment
Unconsciousness
, Lightheaded or dizzy sensation
Tingling sensations
Hot and cold sensations
Muscle spasms - ✅✅hyperventilation symptoms
Middle Ear and Sinus Problems - ✅✅During climbs and descents, the free gas formerly present in
various body cavities expands due to a difference between the pressure of the air outside the body and
that of the air inside the body. If the escape of the expanded gas is impeded, pressure builds up within
the cavity and pain is experienced. Trapped gas expansion accounts for ear pain and sinus pain, as well
as a temporary reduction in the ability to hear
The Eustachian tube allows air pressure to equalize in the middle ear.
spatial disorientation - ✅✅the lack of orientation with regard to the position, attitude, or movement
of the airplane in space
vestibular system - ✅✅organs found in the inner ear that sense position by the way we are balanced
somatosensory system - ✅✅nerves in the skin, muscles, and joints, which, along with hearing, sense
position based on gravity, feeling, and sound
visual system - ✅✅eyes, which sense position based on what is seen
the leans - ✅✅can result when a banked attitude, to the left for example, may be entered too slowly
to set in motion the fluid in the "roll" semicircular tubes. [Figure 16-4] An abrupt correction of this
attitude sets the fluid in motion, creating the illusion of a banked attitude to the right. The disoriented
pilot may make the error of rolling the aircraft into the original left banked attitude, or if level flight is
maintained, will feel compelled to lean in the perceived vertical plane until this illusion subsides.
coriolis illusion - ✅✅occurs when a pilot has been in a turn long enough for the fluid in the ear canal
to move at the same speed as the canal. A movement of the head in a different plane, such as looking at
something in a different part of the flight deck, may set the fluid moving and create the illusion of
turning or accelerating on an entirely different axis. This action causes the pilot to think the aircraft is
hypoxia - ✅✅"reduced oxygen" or "not enough oxygen."
hypoxic hypoxia - ✅✅a result of insufficient oxygen available to the body as a whole
hypemic hypoxia - ✅✅occurs when the blood is not able to -take up- oxygen in order to transport a
sufficient amount of oxygen to the cells in the body
stagnant hypoxia - ✅✅"not flowing"; results when the oxygen-rich blood in the lungs is not moving,
for one reason or another, to the tissues that need it
histotoxic hypoxia - ✅✅the inability of the cells to effectively use oxygen
Cyanosis (blue fingernails and lips)
Headache
Decreased reaction time
Impaired judgment
Euphoria
Visual impairment
Drowsiness
Lightheaded or dizzy sensation
Tingling in fingers and toes
Numbness - ✅✅symptoms of hypoxia
hyperventilation - ✅✅excessive rate and depth of respiration leading to abnormal loss of carbon
dioxide from the blood
Visual impairment
Unconsciousness
, Lightheaded or dizzy sensation
Tingling sensations
Hot and cold sensations
Muscle spasms - ✅✅hyperventilation symptoms
Middle Ear and Sinus Problems - ✅✅During climbs and descents, the free gas formerly present in
various body cavities expands due to a difference between the pressure of the air outside the body and
that of the air inside the body. If the escape of the expanded gas is impeded, pressure builds up within
the cavity and pain is experienced. Trapped gas expansion accounts for ear pain and sinus pain, as well
as a temporary reduction in the ability to hear
The Eustachian tube allows air pressure to equalize in the middle ear.
spatial disorientation - ✅✅the lack of orientation with regard to the position, attitude, or movement
of the airplane in space
vestibular system - ✅✅organs found in the inner ear that sense position by the way we are balanced
somatosensory system - ✅✅nerves in the skin, muscles, and joints, which, along with hearing, sense
position based on gravity, feeling, and sound
visual system - ✅✅eyes, which sense position based on what is seen
the leans - ✅✅can result when a banked attitude, to the left for example, may be entered too slowly
to set in motion the fluid in the "roll" semicircular tubes. [Figure 16-4] An abrupt correction of this
attitude sets the fluid in motion, creating the illusion of a banked attitude to the right. The disoriented
pilot may make the error of rolling the aircraft into the original left banked attitude, or if level flight is
maintained, will feel compelled to lean in the perceived vertical plane until this illusion subsides.
coriolis illusion - ✅✅occurs when a pilot has been in a turn long enough for the fluid in the ear canal
to move at the same speed as the canal. A movement of the head in a different plane, such as looking at
something in a different part of the flight deck, may set the fluid moving and create the illusion of
turning or accelerating on an entirely different axis. This action causes the pilot to think the aircraft is
