More than half a century has passed since man first stood on the summit of Mount Everest, and the story of man's attempts to climb higher and higher unaided is one of the more colorful and exciting in medicine and physiology. The past few decades have seen an explosion in interest in mountain pursuits in general, as increasing numbers of people take to the mountains for day trips and on longer excursions. As a result, doctors face ever-expanding challenges in dealing with the changes in human physiology and particular medical conditions that arise from exposure to altitude.Building on the succ.