ABPM Aerospace Medicine flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

FAA Class I validity

A first-class FAA medical certificate is valid for 12 calendar months for pilots under age 40 and 6 calendar months for pilots age 40 or older.

Special issuance

An FAA authorization that grants medical certification to an airman with a disqualifying condition after individualized review, often requiring periodic reports or testing.

Aviation Medical Examiner

A physician designated by the FAA to perform airman medical examinations and issue, defer, or deny medical certificates under 14 CFR Part 67.

FAA hearing standard

Hearing must be demonstrated in each ear by speech at 6 feet in a quiet room or by audiometry showing no threshold worse than 40 dB at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz.

Color vision requirement

An airman must have color vision sufficient to safely perform duties; the FAA accepts several test methods and may place limitations if color vision is deficient.

Fitness for duty

A clinical judgment that a crewmember is free of impairment, acute illness, and medication effects that could degrade safe performance before a flight or duty period.

Alveolar oxygen equation

PAO2 = (PB − 47) × FIO2 − (PaCO2 / R), where PB is barometric pressure, 47 is water vapor pressure, and R is the respiratory quotient.

Time of useful consciousness

The interval from loss of oxygen to incapacitation; at FL350 it is about 30–60 seconds, at FL400 about 15–20 seconds, and at FL450 about 9–15 seconds.

Boyle's law

At constant temperature, gas volume is inversely proportional to pressure; trapped gas expands during ascent and contracts during descent, causing barotrauma.

Henry's law

The amount of dissolved gas in a liquid is proportional to its partial pressure; rapid altitude decompression can release nitrogen bubbles and cause decompression sickness.

Anti-G straining maneuver

A breathing and muscle-tensing technique that raises intrathoracic pressure and improves +Gz tolerance, often used together with an anti-G suit.

Decompression sickness

A disorder caused by dissolved nitrogen bubbles after pressure reduction; symptoms include joint pain, skin mottling, respiratory and neurological signs; treatment is 100% oxygen and recompression.

OSHA noise PEL

The permissible exposure limit for noise is 90 dBA as an 8-hour time-weighted average; the action level is 85 dBA, with a 3-dB exchange rate.

Radiation dose limit

The ICRP occupational effective dose limit is 20 mSv per year averaged over 5 years, with no more than 50 mSv in any single year.

WBGT

Wet Bulb Globe Temperature: an index combining dry-bulb, natural wet-bulb, and black-globe temperatures to estimate heat stress and set work-rest cycles.

Hand-arm vibration

Vibration transmitted to the hands from tools; ISO 5349 evaluates exposure and risk of vibration white finger using frequency weighting and daily exposure time.

Confined space oxygen

Safe entry oxygen concentration is generally 19.5–23.5% by volume; lower levels risk hypoxia and higher levels increase fire risk.

Circadian performance low

Core body temperature and alertness reach a nadir roughly between 0200 and 0600, increasing fatigue-related error risk during early-morning operations.

Sleep inertia

Temporary reduced alertness and performance immediately after awakening, typically lasting 15–30 minutes and worse after awakening from slow-wave sleep.

Crew resource management

Training and procedures that use all available human, technical, and informational resources to improve communication, leadership, and decision-making in flight.

Threat and error management

A framework in which crews anticipate threats, detect and manage errors, and avoid undesired aircraft states through briefing, monitoring, and cross-checking.

Vigilance decrement

A decline in detection performance during prolonged monitoring tasks, often appearing within 30 minutes and worsened by fatigue, low workload, and automation complacency.

SANS

Spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome: microgravity-related optic disc edema, globe flattening, choroidal folds, and hyperopic shifts observed in some astronauts.

Spaceflight bone loss

Microgravity causes trabecular bone loss of roughly 1–1.5% per month in unloaded regions, raising fracture risk and requiring exercise and nutritional countermeasures.

Cephalad fluid shift

In microgravity, body fluids shift toward the head and thorax, causing facial puffiness, venous congestion, and altered cardiovascular and intracranial pressure regulation.

Remote medicine

Medical care delivered where evacuation is delayed or impossible, relying on telemedicine, standing protocols, autonomous crew training, and limited on-site resources.

Orthostatic intolerance

After spaceflight or prolonged bed rest, reduced blood volume and vascular tone can cause dizziness or syncope on standing; fluid loading and compression garments are countermeasures.

14 CFR Part 67

The FAA regulation establishing medical standards and certification procedures for airmen, including examination requirements and disqualifying conditions.

SMS four pillars

Safety management systems rest on policy, risk management, assurance, and promotion; these components support proactive hazard identification and continuous safety improvement.

NTSB

National Transportation Safety Board: an independent U.S. agency that investigates aviation accidents, determines probable cause, and issues safety recommendations.

ICAO Annex 1

The International Civil Aviation Organization annex containing personnel licensing standards, including medical fitness requirements for flight crew and air traffic controllers.

Aeromedical evacuation

Transport of patients by air; considerations include cabin altitude, oxygen partial pressure, gas expansion, vibration, and patient stability before and during flight.