Abstract
There is some uncertainty about who has the distinction of being the first to document the deleterious effects of high altitude on travelers to high mountains. In some ways it is surprising that there are not more references in classical Greek and Roman literature. When people who live near sea level go to altitudes of about 3000 m (about 10,000 ft) or more, many develop symptoms of acute mountain sickness. These symptoms include headache, fatigue, light-headedness, loss of appetite, insomnia, and sometimes, dizziness, palpitations, and nausea in addition. The ancient Greeks were such astute observers, and the Romans had such a far-flung empire, that one might expect to read more about the physiological effects of high altitude in their extensive literature.
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References
Acosta, I. de. Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias. Seville: Iuan de Leon, 1590, (Spanish edition). This was reprinted by Edicion de Jose Alcina Franch. Madrid, Historia 16, 1986.
Acosta, I. de. The Naturall and Morali Historie of the East and West Indies. Reprinted from the first English edition of 1604 by the Hakluyt Society, 1880, which itself was reprinted by Burt Franklin, Publisher, New York, 1973.
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© 1998 American Physiological Society
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West, J.B. (1998). From Classical Greece to the End of the Seventeenth Century. In: High Life. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7573-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7573-6_1
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