Question

Mountain sickness in a person climbing high altitudes without oxygen cylinders is due to

• A. lack of haemoglobin
• B. lack of erythrocytes
• C. hypoxia
• D. none of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is C hypoxia

If a person who lives on a plane stays on a mountain, he develops symptoms such as breathlessness, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, etc. This is termed mountain sickness. The reason behind it is that the atmospheric pressure falls significantly with rising altitude. Along with it, the partial pressure of oxygen also falls in the atmosphere. It lowers the partial pressure of oxygen and thus reduces oxygen diffusion from alveoli to blood. Since oxygen is less in the blood, it results in the reduction of oxygen in the tissues too. This lack of oxygen supply to tissues is called hypoxia. Mountain sickness symptoms develop due to this lack of oxygen.
Hemoglobin is an oxygen-carrying blood protein. During mountain sickness, there is no effect on hemoglobin.
Erythrocyte is a term for red blood cells. Red blood cell number does not decrease when a person is experiencing mountain sickness.