A unique, intuitive, creative, innovative, bold scientist in endless quest of the truth and a giant in high-altitude medicine: Prof. Dr. Gustavo Zubieta-Castillo, "The Parvatha Guru" (May 20, 1926-September 17, 2015)

Professor Gustavo Zubieta-Castillo - The Mountain Guru, Bolivian visionary, loved art and science. He was a word class pioneer and defender of life and medicine at high altitude. In 1964, after his observations of the perfused heart in dogs, he affirmed that the hearts of high-altitude residents are much more resistant to hypoxia than those at sea level. He clarified misconceptions about lung diseases at high altitude, which were improperly termed "loss of adaptation." His original and unique views on what was called chronic mountain sickness (CMS), a term he proposed be discarded and be rather expressed as polyerythrocythemia (as a more precise symptomatic description of multiple pathologies in the hypoxic environment of high altitude). He created the "triple hypoxia syndrome," an essential description to explain the momentary decrease of PaO 2 in polyerythrocythemic patients. His concepts of hypoxia gave rise to the formulation of the high-altitude adaptation formula. On his obituary, legendary respiratory physiologist Prof. John B. West stated, "He was a remarkable man and our discipline has lost a giant." Renowned Environmental scientist Prof. Thuppil Venkatesh, a long-time friend of Prof. Gustavo Sr., stated, "We lost one of the most valuable and precious personalities… a great loss to the world scientific community." Prof. Gustavo′s son Prof. Dr. Gustavo Zubieta Calleja is also a renowned pulmonologist like his legendary father and keeping his illustrious father′s legacy with pride and honor at his "High Altitude Pulmonary and Pathology Institute," La Paz, Bolivia.

[1]  G. Zubieta-Calleja Extremely high altitude hypoxic conditions during Mount Everest expeditions, residence at South Pole stations, in Tibet and among the Andes: Van Slyke equation modification is crucially important for acid–base measurements , 2012 .

[2]  G. Zubieta-Calleja HUMAN ADAPTATION TO HIGH ALTITUDE AND TO SEA LEVEL , 2010 .

[3]  P. Paulev,et al.  Altitude adaptation through hematocrit changes. , 2007, Journal of physiology and pharmacology : an official journal of the Polish Physiological Society.

[4]  P. Paulev,et al.  Hypoventilation in chronic mountain sickness: a mechanism to preserve energy. , 2006, Journal of physiology and pharmacology : an official journal of the Polish Physiological Society.

[5]  G. Zubieta-Calleja,et al.  Chronic mountain sickness: the reaction of physical disorders to chronic hypoxia. , 2006, Journal of physiology and pharmacology : an official journal of the Polish Physiological Society.

[6]  P. Paulev,et al.  Non-invasive measurement of circulation time using pulse oximetry during breath holding in chronic hypoxia. , 2005, Journal of physiology and pharmacology : an official journal of the Polish Physiological Society.

[7]  F. Léon-Velarde,et al.  Consensus statement on chronic and subacute high altitude diseases. , 2005, High altitude medicine & biology.

[8]  P. Paulev,et al.  Do Over 200 Million Healthy Altitude Residents Really Suffer from Chronic Acid–Base Disorders? , 2010, Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry.

[9]  陈建,et al.  Bloodletting: a medical resource since the stone age , 2004 .

[10]  G. Zubieta-Calleja,et al.  Adaptation to life at the altitude of the summit of Everest. , 2003, Fiziolohichnyi zhurnal.

[11]  M. Yaron,et al.  Children at high altitude: an international consensus statement by an ad hoc committee of the International Society for Mountain Medicine, March 12, 2001. , 2001, High altitude medicine & biology.

[12]  G. Zubieta-Calleja High altitude pathology at 12000 ft. , 1989 .

[13]  H. Spielvogel,et al.  Respiratory studies in women at high altitude (3,600 m or 12,200 ft and 5,200 m or 17,200 ft). , 1972, Respiration; international review of thoracic diseases.