Polar Human Biology

Book excerpt: Polar Human Biology documents the proceedings of the SCAR/IUPS/IUBS Symposium on Human Biology and Medicine in the Antarctic held at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, England on September 19-21, 1972. This book compiles review papers of expeditions conducted by several scientists, demonstrating the multidisciplinary aspects of the work carried out in both polar regions. The first portion of the compilation describes the problems encountered by Antarctic expeditions in the 1930s and today, which illustrates the tremendous changes in the way in which Antarctic expeditions operated then and now. Following the review papers, medical and dental aspects are also described, including a brief discussion on microbiology. The final section of this book deals with psychological and behavioral aspects, indicating that the interpretation of physiological studies of the effects of cold on man would be greatly helped by knowledge of the psychological effects of the polar situation. This text is a good reference for students or individuals conducting research on human and marine biology in the Antarctic regions.