ABSTRACT
In 1987, the National Academy of Sciences report A Strategy for Space Biology and Medical Science recommended that central venous pressure be measured in space using an indwelling catheter (10). These measurements were deemed critical for understanding the early adaptation to weightlessness. At the time, the expectation was that central venous pressure would increase above standing and supine values due to the approximate 2-L shift of fluid from the legs to the chest upon entering weightlessness.
