Health care and medicine are vast fields with a myriad of specialties concerning specific groups of patients, diseases, and skills required to perform tasks. New medical specialties arise as new disorders emerge and the world continues to evolve technologically. For example, the radiology specialty in modern medicine would not exist without the relevant technologies being invented and utilized in health care. The invention and popularization of air travel had a similar effect on the medical field. This paper concerns the specialty of aviation medicine, its history, its objectives, and various departments, including flight physiology and psychology. In addition, the occupational aspect of aviation medicine and medical examinations will be discussed.
Aviation medicine is a medical specialty that concerns the physiological and psychological health and well-being of people in flight. The groups of patients subject to aviation medicine comprise all persons who fly professionally or as passengers. The acceleration and altitude of flights, as well as low oxygen and prolonged inability to move, can severely affect the health of persons in flight. In addition, repeated exposure to such conditions is highly likely to have a long-term impact on one’s physical and mental health. Therefore, aviation medicine aims to prevent and reduce risks associated with flying for crew and passengers. In addition, it aims to reduce human factor risks by ensuring pilots and crew are physically and mentally fit to take on the responsibility of operating an aircraft.
The history of aviation medicine as a specialty is closely linked to the history of aviation itself. The first successful air flight on a hot air balloon took place in the late 18th century, with the invention of the lighter-than-air engine. Nearly a century later, the French physician Paul Bert observed the men ascending to an unprecedented altitude on a balloon, noting a chain of symptoms, including loss of visual and hearing acuity, paralysis, and loss of consciousness, developing in both. A hypothesis was proposed about the effect of barometric pressure on the human body, with Bert performing several experiments to confirm it. In the course of Bert’s work, it was established that the observed symptoms occurred due to decreased oxygen pressure. Aviation medicine developed further with the development of more modern aircraft as new physical and mental health issues in pilots occurred. It should be noted that the boom of research in aviation medicine occurred during World War I as the conflict mandated the construction and use of numerous new aircraft. Overall, it can be argued that aviation medicine facilitated the development of new and safer air vehicles.
The primary departments of aviation medicine include preventative, clinical, occupational, and environmental medicine. Preventive aviation medicine aims to decrease the risk to the health and well-being of persons in flight and individuals in destination locations. Clinical aviation medicine represents the general responsibility of healthcare professionals towards their patients and refers to the treatment of crew and passengers in flight or following one. Thus, it is crucial for medical professionals to consider the impact of low oxygen pressure and changes in pressure on the health of people with different conditions. The occupational branch of aviation medicine focuses on professionals who fly frequently and are often exposed to high altitudes. In addition, occupational medicine bears the responsibility of ensuring pilots and crew are medically fit to perform their duties. Meanwhile, environmental aviation medicine considers the impact of the environment and the frequent change in environments on persons’ physical and mental health.
Furthermore, flight physiology and psychology should be considered branches of aviation medicine. Aviation physiology examines the physical effects experienced by persons in flight. Specifically, it studies the impact of pressure change of the atmosphere gases on gases in the human body, the exchange of gases between the body and the environment, and circulation. Thus, aviation physiology addresses such problems as hypoxia, hyperventilation, trapped gas, and decompression sickness that can be experienced by traveling individuals at different times during a flight. Meanwhile, aviation psychology studies the impact of flying on the mental state of different individuals, including flight crew members and passengers. As the study of human conduct, flight psychology aims to determine what cognitive and emotional processes are involved in different behaviors of persons during a flight. In addition, one of its crucial goals is to develop mental health assessments of pilots and other crew members and enhance the selection of aviation professionals.
Considering the vital role of aircraft pilots and crew, it is crucial to ensure their health and well-being through frequent aviation medical examinations. Flight crew members can suffer from such occupational sicknesses as circadian rhythm disruption, stress, fatigue, radiation disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and cancer, among others. These conditions can have a profound impact on their mental health and their ability to perform their duties. In addition, their quality of life can decrease drastically. Therefore, frequent medical examinations before each flight are essential to aviation medicine. Thus, flight crew members should be regularly subjected to mental health checks and physical studies, including eyesight, hearing, and blood tests, lung function assessment, electrocardiogram, and chest X-rays, among other evaluations.
In summary, aviation medicine is a specialty dedicated to the examination of the effects of flight on the human body and the prevention and treatment of various conditions in persons in flight. The occupational branch of the specialty is of particular importance as it addresses the physical and psychological health of professional flight crew members, who are responsible for the lives of their passengers. In addition, aviation medicine remains crucial in developing safer flight modes.