A middle-aged college professor from Boston is in the Swiss Alps studying astron

Question

A middle-aged college professor from Boston is in the Swiss Alps studying astronomy. He arrived two days ago and plans to stay the entire year. However, he notices that he is short of breath when he walks up steps and that he tires easily with any physical activity. His symptoms gradually disappear: after two months, he feels fine. Upon returning to the United States, he has a complete physical exam and is told that his erythrocyte count is higher than normal. (a) Attempt to explain this finding. (b) Will his RBC count remain at this higher-than-normal level? Why or why not?

Explanation / Answer

a) At higher altitudes the atmospheric pressure drops and as a result O2 available is lower. In order to acclimatise to the drop in O2 levels higher amount of RBCs are produced through increased erythropoesis.

b) This will not remain at this higher level after returning to sea level. The body will recycle fast and return back to original state in weeks or even days.

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