Aviation Medicine: global historical perspectives and the development of Aviation Medicine alongside the growth of Singapore's aviation landscape.

Aviation Medicine traces its roots to high altitude physiology more than 400 years ago. Since then, great strides have been made in this medical specialty, initially catalysed by the need to reduce pilot medical attrition during the World Wars, and more recently, fuelled by the explosive growth in globalised commercial air travel. This paper traces the historical milestones in Aviation Medicine, and maps its development in Singapore since the 1960s.

Pneumomediastinum diagnosed by chest radiography after centrifuge training.

A retrospective review of the human centrifuge training database in the Republic of Singapore Air Force was carried out for the period 1995-2006. Six cases of pneumomediastinum were reported in aircrew trainees who underwent ab initio human centrifuge training. Only two of the six cases presented with chest discomfort with or without neck pain, with the rest being incidental findings picked up during routine medical examination.

Clinical cases seen in tsunami hit Banda Aceh: from a primary health care perspective.

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami caused catastrophic damage to many cities on the rim of the Indian Ocean. Banda Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia was particularly badly hit due to its close proximity to the epicenter. The Singapore Armed Forces Medical Team was one of the earliest medical teams to arrive in Banda Aceh, providing primary health care to the survivors.