The Urologist's Guide to the Galaxy

• Main Author: Michael E. Moran
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Antarctic; Gemini; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.499.6204; http://www.iksi.org/images/uploads/The_Urologist%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy.pdf

Abstract. "Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy. " Stone disease has affected mankind since earliest recorded history and will trouble us as we strive for the stars. Zero and microgravity are risk factors for urolithiasis, but the incidence is not yet known. Yet, the possible "century of space exploration " lies before us if payloads can be inexpensively offloaded from Earth's surface to orbit. The scientific publications about medical conditions of astronauts, deep water environments (submarine) and extreme conditions (Arctic and Antarctic) were reviewed to better understand the urologic risks. Actual events were next sought and any scientific data regarding therapeutic intent was carefully scrutinized. Incidence and risk potential could then be calculated and potential for intervention would then be known. The National Space Biomedical Research Institute has classified space health hazards and stone disease as "Risk 12. " Combined statistics from NASA's Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle flights and long-term missions such as Shuttle-Mir or Skylab fail to reveal any "disclosed " emergency stone events. One published article suggests that some cosmonauts have in fact formed stones during space missions. Detailed data from 79 U.S. space missions, involving 219 person-flights, and 175 astronauts show 23 genitourinary problems ( 1.2