Introduction in hygiene and ecology.

Basic laws of
hygiene. Bases of preventive and current sanitary
supervision. Principles of the hygienical setting of
norms. Cosmosphere, sun radiation and health.
Hygienical value of sun radiation, physical
properties and chemical composition of air
environment. Hygienical value of constituents of
biosphere (atmosphere, hydrosphere, litosphere).

Author: Lototska Olena V.

1
 THE PLAN

1. Introduction in hygiene and ecology.

2. Basic laws of hygiene.
3. Bases of preventive and current sanitary supervision.
4. Principles of the hygienical setting of norms.
5. Cosmosphere, sun radiation and health.
6. Hygienical value of sun radiation, physical properties
and chemical composition of air environment value of
sun radiation, physical properties and chemical
composition of air environment.
7. Hygienical value of constituents of biosphere
(atmosphere, hydrosphere, litosphere).
Introduction
“Prevention is better than cure” is an old saying.
 Prophylaxis is one of the basic principles of
public health service. The main duty of the
medical workers is the taking of the disease
prevention measures for healthy people,
complication and relapse prevention for the ill.
 Prophylaxis means the wide system of state,
public and medical measures for preserving and
strengthening people’s health, the upbringing of
the healthy young generation, work capacity and
people’s longevity increasing.
 Prophylaxis is divided into three kinds – primary,
secondary and tertiary in accordance to the specific kinds
of pathology.

 Primary prophylaxis includes prophylactic technologies of

preventing disease through removing risk factors (causes
and conditions of its development) and improving general
body resistance to risk factors.

 Secondary prophylaxis includes medico-prophylactic

technologies of revealing a disease, preventing its progress,
aggravation and possible complications.

 Tertiary prophylaxis includes medico-prophylactic

technologies aimed at removing negative aftermaths of the
disease (relapses, complications, temporary and permanent
disability, death).
 Health

 Health is not simply the absence of disease.

 It is the state of optimal physical and mental well being.

 Taking personal responsibility for your health care by

developing positive health behaviors is the most cost-effective
way to ensure a longer, healthier, perhaps more fun, and
ultimately more productive life.
 way of life pollution of an
(49-53 %) environment
(17-20 %)

health of the
population

genetic medical
factor etiological factors
(18-22 %),
(8 -10 %)
To promote and maintain a state of health an
individual needs the following prerequisites:
o Supply of fresh air o Complete sense of
and sunlight protection and
o Safe and potable security both socially
water supply and economically
o Balanced diet o hygienic
o Healthful shelter environmental
o Adequate clothing sanitation
o Protection from o A congenial social
communicable and and cultural
other avoidable atmosphere.
afflictions o Regulated way of life
with proper rest and
relaxation and good
and simple habits.
 Medicine

MEDICAL
Object of studying:
sick man

PROPHYLACTIC MEDICINE
(HYGIENE)
Object of studying: healthy
human, and groups of the
practically healthy people
Hygiene is a basic
preventive science in
medicine. It generalizes all
dates of theoretical and
clinical disciplines in the
field of prophylaxis,
integrates knowledge’s
about complex influence of
an environment on health
of the man, work out
principles and systems of
preventive measures.
  The word hygiene comes
from Hygeia, the Greek
goddess of health, who
was the daughter of
Aesculapius, the god of
medicine.

In Greek and Roman mythology, Hygieia (also Hygiea

or Hygeia, Greek Ὑγιεία or Ὑγεία, Latin Hygēa or
Hygīa), was a daughter of the god of medicine,
Asclepius. She was the goddess of health,
cleanliness and sanitation. She also played an
important part in her father's cult. While her father was
more directly associated with healing, she was
associated with the prevention of sickness and the
continuation of good health. Her name is the source
of the word "hygiene".
•Asclepius and Hygeia, Attic Relief,
last quarter 4th century BC
 Basic aim of hygiene –
preserving and improving health
 Professor Winslow defined aim of hygiene as
"science and art of (i) preventing diseases, (ii) prolonging
life, and (iii) promoting health and efficiency through
organized community effort for
(a) the sanitation of the environment,
(b) the control of communicable diseases,
(c) the education of the individual or personal hygiene,
(d) the organization of medical and nursing services for
the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease,
and
(e) the development of the social machinery to ensure
everyone a standard of living adequate for the
maintenance of health, so organizing these benefits as to
enable every citizen to realize birth right of health and
longevity".
 It has many aspects:
personal hygiene (proper living habits, cleanliness of body
and clothing, healthful diet, a balanced regimen of rest and
exercise);

 domestic hygiene (sanitary preparation of food, cleanliness,

and ventilation of the home);

public hygiene (supervision of water and food supply,

containment of communicable disease, disposal of garbage and
sewage, control of air and water pollution);

 occupational hygiene (measures that minimize

occupational disease and accident);

mental hygiene (recognition of mental and emotional factors

in healthful living) and so on.
Main tasks of hygiene are the following:

1. Studying the natural and

anthropogenic environmental
factors and social conditions
affecting the health of a human

2. Studying the laws of the

impact of environmental
factors and conditions on the
human body or population.
3. Scientific substantiation and working out of
the hygienic norms, rules and measures,
which help use maximum positively
influencing on an organism of the man the
factors of an environment and elimination or
restriction up to safe levels unfavourable
operating ones.

4. Practical implementation of
developed hygienic
recommendations, rules and
standards in national economy,
controlling and improving their
effectiveness.
5. Forecasting the sanitary situation
for the nearest and remote future,
taking into account plans of the
national economy development,
proper hygienic problems arising
from the forecasted situation,
scientific research of such
problems.
Basic methods of hygienic
researches
 Methods of
hygiene

1. Methods of environment
studying

2. Methods of studying of
environmental influence on
human organism and health
 Methods of environment studying

Methods of Instrumental and

sanitary laboratory
examination with methods
further sanitary
description

Physical Biological

Sanitary-statistic Geographical

chemical
 Methods of Studying of Environmental
Influence on Human Organism and Health

Methods of Methods of
experimental natural
investigation observation

1.Clinical
1.Experiment with 2. Physiological
models of natural
condition 3. Biochemical
4. Toxicological
2.Laboratory experiment
on animals
5. Sanitary-statistic
3.Laboratory experiment on 6. Medical-
humans geographical
Sanitation
The word sanitation is derived from the Latin word Sanitas
which means a state of health.

Sanitation is
the hygienic means
of promoting
health through prevention of
human contact with
the hazards of wastes as well
as the treatment and proper
disposal of sewage
wastewater. Hazards can be
either physical,
microbiological, biological or
chemical agents of disease.
Wastes that can cause health problems include human and animal
feces, solid wastes, domestic wastewater (sewage, sullage,
greywater), industrial wastes and agricultural wastes. Hygienic
means of prevention can be by using engineering solutions
(e.g. sewerage and wastewater treatment), simple technologies (e.g.
latrines, septic tanks), or even by personal hygiene practices (e.g.
simple handwashing with soap).
People in ancient societies were concerned about personal
hygiene and sanitation for religious reasons. The Bible
contains many rules for cleanliness, and describes public
health measures still important today. These include
quarantining the sick to prevent the spread of disease and
avoiding contact with objects used by sick people.

The Greek physician Hippocrates

first made the connection between
disease and natural environmental
factors in the 4th century bc. His treatise
Airs, Waters, and Places described how
diseases can result from way of life,
climate, impure water, and other
environmental factors. For the next 2000
years, it was the most widely used text
on public health and epidemiology.
Ancient Romans adopted Greek
ideas about public health after
colonizing Greece in the 1st
century bc. Rome's greatest
contributions to public health
involved sanitary engineering.
They built aqueducts to supply
Rome with pure water and a
public sewer system to carry
away wastes, as well as public
baths and hospitals. The Roman
government also hired
physicians and assigned them
to villages to care for the poor.
After the Roman Empire collapsed in ad 476 public health
efforts were forgotten and unsanitary conditions returned.
Millions of people died when great epidemics of smallpox,
leprosy, bubonic plague, tuberculosis, and other diseases
swept across Europe in the Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries
ad).
The environments must be hygienic, with supply of
fresh air, safe potable water and balanced diet. This
aspect of preventive medicine started gaining more
importance from 18th century onwards with the
discovery of various vaccines and sera for the
protection against various diseases like small pox,
cholera, plague, whooping cough, tetanus,
tuberculosis, poliomyelitis etc.
•Edward Jenner discovered vaccination against small
pox in 1796.
The discovery of causative agents of the diseases by
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) and Robert Koch (1843-
1910) gave a great fillip to the science of preventive
medicine.
Max von Pettenkofer, 1818–
1901, is known as the founder
of hygiene in Germany.
Pettenkofer is considered a
founder of epidemiology and is
known for his researches in
the ventilation of dwellings,
sewage disposal, and the
spread of cholera. He
developed a method for the
quantitative determination of
carbon dioxide.
Max Rubner (1854-1932) was a
German physiologist and
hygienist Rubner is remembered
for his research in metabolism,
energy physiology, hygiene and
dietary thermogenesis
Erisman Fedor (1842-1915) is
a founder of scientific hygiene
in Russia. He’s Swiss by
origin. In 1869-1896 he lived
in Russia. Professor of Moscow
university (since 1882). He
had classical traits and
guidelines in all principal
parts of hygiene. In 1891 he
organized the first sanitary-
epidemiological station in
Russia (now - Moscow
Research Institute of Hygiene
by Erisman)
Dobroslavin Alexey
(1842-1889) is a
founder of experimental
and military hygiene in
Russia. He created the
first hygienic laboratory
in St.-Petersburg.
 Subbotin Viktor (1844 -
1898) was the first Ukrainian
professor of hygiene.
In 1871, V.Subbotin was
elected an assistant-professor of
the Kyiv University and soon
appointed a head of the first
Department of Hygiene, Medical
Police, Medical Geography and
Statistics. The works by V.
Subbotin were mainly devoted to
the problems of general and
communal hygiene. Problems of
hygiene of hospitals, sanitary
protection of water bodies,
medical geography occupied the
leading place among them.
 Hygienic standardization:

Environmental standards are definite ranges of

environmental factors which are optimal or the least
dangerous for human life and health.
In Ukraine basic objects of hygienic standardization are:
MAC – maximum admissible concentration (for chemical
admixtures, dust and other hazards)
MAL – maximum admissible level (for physical factors)
LD – dose limit (for ionizing radiation)
Optimum and admissible parameters of microclimate,
lighting, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure and other
natural environmental factors.
Optimum and admissible daily requirements in food and
water.
 Basic objects which are under the hygienic norms
setting can be divided into two groups.
The first group contains factors
of anthropogenous origin which are
unfavorable for human being, and are
not necessary for the normal life
activity (dust, noise, vibration, ionizing
radiation, etc.). MAC, MAL and LD are
those parameters which are set for this
group of factors.

The second group contains

factors of natural surrounding which
are necessary (in certain amount) for
normal life activity (food-stuffs, solar
radiation, microclimatic factors and
others). For this group the following
parameters, must be set: optimum,
minimum and maximum admissible
parameters.
 The methodical scheme of
hygienic norms of
substantiation using, the
example of MAC for some toxic
substance.

The first stage is study physical and chemical

properties of the substance, elaboration of methods of
quantitative determination of this substance in different
subjects, determination of its regimen of action on the
human (duration, interruption, changes of intensity),
ways of getting into the organism, study migration in
different elements of the surrounding, mathematical
prediction of duration of existence in different
surroundings.
 The second stage is study
direct influence on the
organism. It is started from
'sharp' experiments the main
purpose of which is getting
initial toxicometric data about
the substance (determination of
LD50, or LC50 threshold of
strong action (LIMac) and other.
With the knowledge of physical
and chemical properties of the
substance, its initial
toxicological characteristics
and approximate level of MAC
can be calculated.
 The third stage - is conduction of 'subsharp'
experiment during l-2 months for determination
of cumulating coefficient and the most vulnerable
physiologic systems and organs specification of
mechanisms of action and metabolism.
 The fourth (basic) stage is carrying out chronic
experiment which lasts 4-6 months in the case of
modelling of working conditions, 8-12 - communal
conditions, 24-36 - in study processes of aging or
induction of tumours.
During the experiment integral parameters are
studied. They reflect condition of animals, degree
of strain of regulative systems, functions and
structure of organs which take part in processes
of metabolism (activity of enzymes), influence of
functional loadings.
Numbers of MACs of toxic chemical substances
in the Ukraine are various:
- for the air of working zone - more than 800,
- water- 700,
- atmosphere air- 200,
- food-stuffs - more than 200,
- soil - more than 30.
 The first law of hygiene

can be formulated as follows: the infringement of

level of health of the people (disease, decreasing of
the resistance, immunological status, adaptation-
compensatory opportunities of organism), caused by
physical, chemical, biological and psychogenic
etiological factors, can occur only at presence of
three driving forces:
•source of pollution,
•mechanism of its influence or ways of its
transference
•and human susceptible organism.
At the absence of one of these conditions, the
disturbances of health will not take place.
 The first law of hygiene
can be formulated as follows: level of health of the people
(disease, decreasing of the resistance, immunological
status, adaptation-compensatory opportunities of
organism), caused by physical, chemical, biological and
psychogenic etiological factors, can occur only at
presence of three driving forces:
 What is pollution?
The word comes from the
Latin pollutus, which means
made foul, unclean, or dirty.
Some is obvious like smoke
which you can see but much of
it is not obvious at all. Yet
you're eating it and drinking it
and breathing it most of the
time. And what is worse is that
all this muck affects all other
life on Earth.
Pollutant - A substance or effect which
adversely alters the environment by changing the
growth rate of species, interferes with the food chain,
is toxic, or interferes with health, comfort amenities or
property values of people

Anything and
Everything is toxic if
the dose is made so !!
Paracelsus
(1493-1541)
 On a degree of danger distinguish four
groups of chemical substances –
pollutants:

I - especially high toxic (middle death

doze -LD5о - is lower than 50 mg/kg of
weight of body);
II - high toxic (LD5о = 50 - 200
mg/kg);
Ш - middle toxic (LD5о = 200 - 1000
mg/kg);
IV - low toxic (LD5о- more than 1000
mg/kg)
The concept about first driving force of process of
change of level of health allows to study laws of change
of pollutants in an environment, their decomposition and
transformation under influence of the physical and
chemical factors of an environment.

The basic purpose of these measures is the

decreasing of concentration of pollutants in an
environment up to a level, which is safety for
health of the population.
 The following ways of toxic, radioactive and
biological agents transmission are possible

AIR MAN
pollutants

water MAN
pollutants

Plants Animals
pollutants SOIL

MAN
Major condition of high
stability of the organism to
adverse factors of
environment are healthy
lifestyle, excluding the
using of alcoholic drinks,
smoking, other harmful
habits, rational nutrition,
rational mode of work and
rest, observance of rules of
personal hygiene, using of
wide improving
opportunities of physical
culture and sports, self
preparing.
 The second law of hygiene

The second law (negative anthropogenic action)

- people unfavorably influence on the environment
in connection with their physiological, domestic
and industrial action.

During the process of live the man allocates in environment

excrement (faces, urine), which are very dangerous in the
epidemic and sanitary attitude.
Human activities can release substances into the air,
water and soil some of which can cause problems for
humans, plants, and animals.
Traditional forms of pollution include
air pollution, water pollution, and
radioactive contamination while a broader
interpretation of the word has led to the
ideas of ship pollution, light pollution, and
noise pollution.
Common Sources of Primary Pollutants
Chemical
Source Pollutants Formulae
Nitrous oxide, NO2
Cars, Trucks, carbon monoxide, CO
Buses carbon dioxide, CO2
hydrocarbons CxHy

Nitrous oxide, NO2

carbon monoxide, CO
Industry CO2
carbon dioxide,
hydrocarbons + others CxHy

Aerosol cans
CFCs
(chlorofluorocarbons), Various
hydrocarbons

CO
Burning Carbon monoxide, CO2
carbon dioxide SO2
Coal
sulfur dioxide
There are several main types of
pollution and well-known effects
of pollution which are
commonly discussed. These
include
•smog,
•acid rain,
•the greenhouse effect,
•and "holes" in the ozone layer.

Each of these problems has

serious implications for our
health and well-being as well as
for the whole environment.
 Acid rain forms
when moisture in
the air interacts
with nitrogen oxide
and sulphur
dioxide released by
factories, power
plants, and motor
vehicles that burn
coal or oil.

This interaction of gases with water vapour forms

sulphuric acid and nitric acids. Eventually these chemicals fall
to earth as precipitation, or acid rain. Acid rain pollutants may
travel long distances, with winds carrying them thousands of
miles before they fall as dew, drizzle, fog, snow or rain.
Hazards of Acidic Rain
 Discoloration of houses,
 Rusting of metals.
 Damage of crops.
 Skin cancer
 Damage to marine life
 Lead poisoning due to
damage to lead pipes.
Prevention:
 i. Treatment of
industrial smoke
 ii. Increase plant
growing i.e. Forestation
 Green House Effect:
Green houses are glass huts
seen in hilly areas and in the
agricultural processing areas.
Mechanism : When light falls
on any surface which is
transparent, some rays are
reflected and some are
refracted. A process of partial
retention of light takes place
in the green house, so
temperature in the glass
house is increased.

Causes of Green house effect:

The air pollution causes emission of gases like
CO2, CH4, CO, CFC's,NO2,,Chlorine, Methyl chloroform
These gases are known as Green house gases. These gases cause
partial retention of light in the air and so temperature of the
atmosphere increases
Hazards of Green House Effects:
 Global warming
 Increased evaporation from sea.
 Melting of Ice at poles of earth.
 Increase in sea level.
 Floods.
 Disturbance at coastal areas due to increased sea
level.
Prevention:
 Decreased industrialization
 Treatment of Industrial smoke
 Check unfit automobiles.
 Damage to the ozone
layer is primarily caused by
the use of chloroflurocarbons
(CFCs). Ozone is a form of
oxygen found in the earth's
upper atmosphere. The thin
layer of ozone molecules in
the atmosphere absorb some
of the sun's ultraviolet (UV)
rays before it reaches the
earth's surface, making life on
earth possible. The depletion
of ozone is causing higher
levels of UV radiation on
earth, endangering both
plants and animals.
 The third law of hygiene (of natural pollution)

The environment is polluted not only under the action of

people, but some pollutants come from natural sources.

 Volcanoes spew out ash, acid

mists, hydrogen sulfide, and other
toxic gases.
 Sea spray and decaying vegetation
are major sources of reactive sulfur
compounds in the air.
Forest fires create clouds of smoke
that blanket whole continents.
Trees and bushes emit millions of tons of volatile
organic compounds (terpenes and isoprenes).
Pollen, spores, viruses, bacteria, and other small
bits of organic material in the air cause widespread
suffering from allergies and airborne infections.
Storms in arid regions raise dust clouds that
transport millions of tons of soil and can be
detected half a world away.
Bacterial metabolism of decaying vegetation in
swamps and of cellulose in the guts of termites and
ruminant animals is responsible for as much as two-
thirds of the methane (natural gas) in the air.
 The fourth law of hygiene – is the law of positive
anthropogenic influence on environmental of human
society.

However we must not think, that the environment is

absolutely defenseless in front of the activity of the man. The
nature has huge resources of self-preservation, self-updating,
self-regulation, maintenance of ecological balance, self-
cleaning, but these reserves are not boundless.
 Factors Which Keep
the Composition of Air Constant
 Wind, which dilutes, sweeps away or aspirates the impurities and
gets replaced by pure air.

 Rain, which washes the air and removes gases as well as suspended
impurities.

 Oxygen and ozone, which oxidise the organic matter present in the air.

 Plants absorb CO2 and give off oxygen in sunlight. During sunlight,
chlorophyll present in green leaves of the plants absorbs carbon from
carbon dioxide of the atmosphere and gives off free oxygen, but at night
this process gets reversed.

 Sun affects the temperature, pressure and volume of air. Thus heating of
air during the day and its cooling at night brings about the air
movements.

 Changing weather and other climatic and meteorological factors affect

the direction and velocity of air movements over vast a tomospheric
areas.
 The fifth law of hygiene
The fifth law of hygiene is the law of inevitable negative
influence of the muddy environment on health of the
population.

People also become ill through exposure to hazards in

the environment. Many diseases are linked to
environmental problems such as polluted drinking
water, poor waste disposal and air and exposure to
mosquitoes and other carriers of disease.
 Effects of Air Pollution
Air pollution can affect our health
in many ways with both short-term
and long-term effects. Different
groups of individuals are affected
by air pollution in different ways.
Some individuals are much more
sensitive to pollutants than are
others. Young children and elderly
people often suffer more from the
effects of air pollution.
People with health problems such as
asthma, heart and lung disease
may also suffer more when the air
is polluted.
Examples of short-term effects include irritation to the eyes,
nose and throat, and upper respiratory infections such as
bronchitis and pneumonia. Other symptoms can include
headaches, nausea, and allergic reactions. Short-term air
pollution can aggravate the medical conditions of individuals
with asthma and emphysema. In the great "Smog Disaster" in
London in 1952, four thousand people died in a few days due
to the high concentrations of pollution.
 Long-term health effects can include chronic respiratory
disease, lung cancer, heart disease, and even damage to the
brain, nerves, liver, or kidneys. Continual exposure to air
pollution affects the lungs of growing children and may
aggravate or complicate medical conditions in the elderly. It is
estimated that half a million people die prematurely every
year in the United States as a result of smoking cigarettes.
 The sixth law of hygiene

The sixth law of hygiene is the

law of positive influence of the
factors of a natural
environment on health of the
population.
The natural factors of the
environment (air, water, good-
quality food) have a positive
influence on people’s health.
They provide preservation and
strengthening of the human
health
 Good nutrition is a basic
component of health. It is essential for
the attainment of normal growth and
development. Not only physical growth
and development, but also the
intellectual development, learning and
behavior are affected by malnutrition. In
short, nutrition affects human health
from birth till death.
 Cosmosphere, sun
radiation and health
 The Sun…
…is necessary for life on Earth.
It helps plants to grow, and provides
warmth and light.
Sunlight also helps people to be happy
and healthy.
 The Sun…
…produces light and warmth but also
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV radiation
cannot be seen or felt.

It is UV radiation, not the warmth or

brightness of the sun that causes changes
to skin color, damage to eyes, and other
bad health effects.
 The sun is a source of
electromagnetic energy
including radio waves,
infrared, visible light,
ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma
rays, and cosmic rays. Each
band has its own
characteristic wavelengths
and properties as a result of
wavelength.
Visible light is "visible"
because its wavelengths can
be detected as various
colors by the human eye.
Ultraviolet, although
invisible, also has various
wavelengths and properties.
 Wavele
.
ngth
Category (nanom Relevance to life on earth
etres,
nm)
Causes short- and long- radiation term
Ultraviolet damage to exposed living matter,
100-400
(UV) particularly, in humans, sunburn,
photoageing and cancer of the skin
Allows us to see; enables plants to create
Visible
400-800 food molecules; drives human
light
biorhythms; lifts human mood
Infrared 800-
Warms our bodies
radiation 17,000
The light you can see has a wavelength of 400-760 (nm).
UV rays
region А –
long-wave ultraviolet radiation:
 = 315-400 nm;
region В –
middle-wave ultraviolet radiation:  = 280-315 nm;
region С –
short-wave ultraviolet radiation:  = 120-280 nm.
UV radiation is not always the same it
changes based on…

 Time of day
 Time of year
 Location
 Altitude
 Weather
 Reflection
 Ozone Layer
 The Sun

Helpful Harmful
Keeps Us Warm Causes Sunburns
Helps Plants Grow
Makes Our Skin Wrinkle
Makes Vitamin D
Causes Skin Cancer
Kills Germs

Makes Us Feel Good

Gives Us Light Causes Eye

Damage
 Physical properties and
chemical composition of air
 Air is vital to maintain life and serves to ensure a constant
supply of life giving oxygen to the body through the process of
respiration. One can refuse polluted food and water but not the
polluted air. An unlimited, relatively clean air is necessary for
comfortable and healthful living.

Functions of Air
1. It serves to maintain Life through
constant oxygen supply.
2. It helps in regulation of body
temperature; cooling power of the
air being an important factor.
3. It helps in functioning of
sensations like smell and hearing.
4. The adverse function is through
the polluted air, which becomes a
source of spreading various
diseases, whether bacterial or
otherwise.
Impurities due to Respiration
Inspire Expired
d air air
Oxygen 20.95 % 16.50 %
Nitroge 79.02 % 79.06%
n
C02 0.04% 4.44%
Water Varies Saturat
vapours ed
Temper Varies As of
ature body
tempera
ture
Temperature
Temperature is a measure of the amount
of heat (average molecular kinetic energy)
in a material, such as air. Temperature is
the average amount of “moving” energy
contained by particles moving around in
the atmosphere.

Temperature is measured with

thermometers that may be calibrated to a
variety of temperature scales. The basic
unit of temperature (symbol: T ) in the
International System of Units (SI) is the
kelvin (Symbol: K). In most of the world,
the degree Celsius scale is used for most
temperature measuring purposes.
Many physical properties of materials including the
phase, density, solubility, vapor pressure, and electrical
conductivity depend on the temperature. Temperature
also plays an important role in determining the rate and
extent to which chemical reactions occur. This is one
reason why the human body has several elaborate
mechanisms for maintaining the temperature at 37 °C,
since temperatures only a few degrees higher can result
in harmful reactions with serious consequences.
Temperature also controls the type and quantity of
thermal radiation emitted from a surface.
 What is Air Pressure?
 It is caused by the weight of all the air in the atmosphere
pressing down on Earth.
 It is also known as atmospheric pressure.
 Air pressure changes with the height and also when air
warms up or cools down.
 Changes in air pressure cause changes in the weather.
 A barometer is used to measure air pressure. The average
pressure exerted by the atmosphere on sea level is 1 bar. The
millibar (one-thousandth of a bar) is the unit commonly used
to report air pressure.

Generally, air pressure

decreases with higher altitude.
Pretend air pressure is like a
column of air reaching into the
sky. The higher up the land is,
the shorter the column of air is
on top of it. A shorter column
has less mass and weighs less.
As such, there is less air on top
of mountains pushing down
than there is down in a valley.
 Decompression sickness

Decompression sickness (DCS) is a condition

that occurs when divers come back to the surface too
quickly after being deep under water. It is caused by
the formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood
stream and, in the worst cases, can cause death.
 Altitude Illness Overview
 Altitude illness occurs when people at high elevation do not
get enough oxygen
 As you gain altitude air grows thinner (less air pressure) &
less oxygen is inhaled
 Most common altitude illness is Acute Mountain Sickness
(AMS)
 AMS commonly occurs when person recently has reached
heights of 6500 – 8000 feet
 Symptoms similar to dehydration & heat
illness. (If at lower altitude < 6500 feet suspect those
first)
 High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) is
cause by fluid collecting in the brain tissues. If
untreated can lead to death
 High Altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is
caused when fluid collects in air spaces in the
lungs. HAPE can be life threatening.
 Measuring Air Pressure
 Air Pressure is measured in millibars (mb) on
a barometer.
 The simplest kind of barometer is a mercury
barometer and pressure is measured in mm
(in) of mercury.
 An aneriod barometer can measure move
conveniently.

A barograph is a special kind of

barometer, which records
continuous changes in air
pressure.
 Humidity
Humidity refers to the amount of moisture (water vapor) in the
surrounding air.
Relative Humidity is a measure of the amount of moisture in the
air compared with the amount of moisture the air can hold.
Relative humidity is expressed as a percentage of how much
moisture the air could possibly hold at the temperature it
happens when you measure it.
The "wetter or damper" you feel, the higher is the relative
humidity. If you feel the air is dry around you, the relative
humidity is low.
 Relative Humidity

We are very sensitive to humidity.

Sweating keeps our body cool and
maintain its current temperature.

If the air is at 90% relative humidity, sweat will not

evaporate into the air. As a result, we feel much hotter
than the actual temperature when the relative humidity
is high.
If the relative humidity is low, we can feel much cooler
than the actual temperature because our sweat
evaporates easily, cooling the body.
Relative Humidity

How relative humidity (RH) is

measured?

• Humidity is measured by
means of a hygrometer.

• There are different types of

hygrometers.

• The most common

hygrometers are Wet- and Dry-
Bulb Psychrometer and Hair
Hygrometer.
High humidity of air sharply decreases heat loss by
perspiration. Heat loss by conduction first of all depends on
temperature of subjects contacting with body, and by
convection (circulation) - also on speed of air moving.
Heat loss by convection is proportional to square root of
speed of air moving (√V). In air temperature 33°C heat loss
by convection stops, and in further increase of temperature
body heating takes place. If temperature of environment is
equal to body temperature heat loss by conduction and
radiation stops. Thus, in conditions of high temperature and
humidity in absence of air moving adaptive possibilities of
thermoregulation are sharply narrowed and tensed.