Contributions of aerospace medicine to clinical medicine

The contributions of aerospace medicine to clinical medicine far exceed the aggregate of the clinical applications of individual technologies which originated in aerospace medicine, important though these be. Contributions of aerospace medicine to clinical medicine will be discussed in seven categories: The raising of issues, questions, and need for systems for protection or support for man before such issues and needs were recognized by clinicians to be important or feasible; Contributing to the manpower pool of able clinical investigators through recruitment and special training in research; Providing fundamental insights into specific biologic processes of clinical significance; The recruitment of disciplines not previously involved extensively in addressing biologic problems and the creation or strengthening of hybrid disciplines such as bionics and bioengineering; Pioneering emphasis on safety, prevention and environmental health now being incorporated into clinical medicine; The development of specific research technologies which have been used to address an array of clinical problems; Specific technologies of clinical significance to which aerospace medicine has contributed, including systems for air transport of patients, many components of modern systems for patient monitoring, components of circulatory and ventillatory support systems, hypoxia warning systems, prevention of toxic exposure and treatment of toxic injury, prevention and treatment of burns, restraint systems, artificial organs, the application of models to clinical practice, and the ordering and automating of information processing.