A multidisciplinary approach to the study of the effects of altitude on muscle structure and function.

The aim of the papers included in the present series as well as the characteristics of the subjects participating in the study (16 mountaineers) are presented. The following studies deal with the effects of chronic hypoxia on muscle ultrastructure, enzymes, and energetics, as well as on oxygen transport and delivery during exercise. Most of the results appearing in the forthcoming papers were collected before and after two Himalaya expeditions (Lhotse Shar, 1981, and Everest, 1986) whose characteristics and duration are described.