The evolution of vital medical equipment of the type regularly seen in first aid kits and ambulances is seen not only in laboratories, hospitals and medical clinics, but also in rather more unusual circumstances and locations.

The stretcher and the ambulance were standardised on the field of battle, ultrasound was initially developed to help spot submarines, and the first nebulisers used steam power to function.

One of the most fascinating cases of medical technology revolutionising a completely different field, leading not only to the completion of a feat deemed impossible, but the radical evolution of a technology that has saved countless thousands of lives.

The oxygen tank allowed humanity to reach the top of the world, which, conversely, evolved to become even more versatile as a result during emergencies.

How Did Medical Oxygen Help Climbers Summit Mount Everest?

The tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest is one of the least hospitable points on Planet Earth.

This is not just because of the extremely low temperatures, difficult climbing terrain and multiple points where climbers can easily slip and fall, but because of the lack of oxygen close to the summit.

As climbers reach higher altitudes, the air gets thinner and thinner, and by 8000 metres, it is no longer possible for human beings to acclimatise and replenish oxygen. This is known as the “death zone” and quickly causes hypoxia.

Prolonged stays in the death zone will cause hypoxia and death, so for an early 1921 reconnaissance expedition to Everest, oxygen cylinders and breathing masks were taken to restore the levels of oxygen that would be lost there, although they would not be used.

When Were Oxygen Tanks First Used On Mount Everest?

The first significant attempt to summit Mount Everest in 1922 was also the first to use oxygen tanks.

Initially thought to be too heavy to use and relatively unreliable, the system did allow for climbers to reach record-high altitudes in both 1922 and in the 1924 summit attempt, which may or may not have been successful.

The technology continued to improve and be experimented with until the first successful summit was achieved by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

It revealed just how effective oxygen therapy was for performance, survival and recovery, and this would translate to how they were used at sea level.

How Did Mount Everest Change Oxygen Tanks?

The initial summit attempts and eventual successful ascent of Mount Everest would have a profound effect on how oxygen technology would change for non-climbers.

Its ability to preserve life even in the harshest conditions meant that it became a vital tool for paramedics, and ever-lighter designs meant that it could be carried in medical bags that could be quickly brought to a patient in a life-or-death situation.

As well as this, developments to respiratory masks help to make them more reliable, easier to apply, easier to use and more comfortable to wear. All of this was vital given that descending from the death zone took a lot of time and energy.

There was also a greater understanding of their strengths and limitations, given the particularly extreme hypoxia experienced in the death zone, and this would shape how oxygen therapy would be administered.