decompression sickness

decompression sickness

n.

A disorder, seen especially in deep-sea divers, caused by the formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood and tissues following a sudden drop in the surrounding pressure, as when ascending rapidly from a dive, and characterized by severe pains in the joints and chest, skin irritation, cramps, and paralysis.

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decompression sickness, illness

n

(Medicine / Pathology) a disorder characterized by severe pain in muscles and joints, cramp, and difficulty in breathing, caused by a sudden and sustained decrease in air pressure, resulting in the deposition of nitrogen bubbles in the tissues Also called caisson disease aeroembolism Nontechnical name the bends

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decompression sickness

A common disorder that affects deep-sea divers following a sudden drop in the surrounding pressure, as when ascending rapidly from a dive. When divers are underwater, the amounts of gases such as O₂, CO₂, and N₂ in their blood increase due to the increased pressure. As they ascend to the surface and the pressure decreases, the gases in their blood expand. The extra oxygen is absorbed by the body; the extra CO₂ is excreted efficiently; but nitrogen, which the body does not use, forms bubbles in the blood and tissues. These bubbles cause severe pains in the joints and chest, skin irritation, cramps, and possibly paralysis. Decompression sickness can be avoided by ascending slowly to the surface, or by spending time in a decompression chamber.

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A syndrome, including bends, chokes, neurological disturbances, and collapse, resulting from exposure to reduced ambient pressure and caused by gas bubbles in the tissues, fluids, and blood vessels.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

decompression sickness - pain resulting from rapid change in pressure bends, caisson disease, gas embolism, aeroembolism, air embolism illness, sickness, unwellness, malady - impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism