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February 8, 2012
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The Bends - Decompression Syndromes

Medical Author:
Eric Mowatt-Larssen, MD
Coauthor:
Eric Johnson, MD
Medical Editor:
Ruben Olmedo, MD
Medical Editor:
Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD
Medical Editor:
Thomas Rebbecchi, MD, FAAEM

The Bends Overview

Scuba diving has achieved remarkable popularity in the years since Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnon developed the demand valve regulator and portable air tank in 1943. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) alone has certified over 5 million divers worldwide. Diving also plays a role in numerous occupations in the military, industry, and scientific research.

Breathing gas under pressure can present a myriad of possible medical problems. One of these is decompression sickness or "the bends," caused by breathing nitrogen or other gases under pressure, which are not metabolized by the body.

  • Doctors first described decompression sickness as caisson disease, because workers building bridges in pressurized air boxes called caissons developed symptoms of the then-mysterious illness.
  • In the United States, more than 500 people suffer from decompression sickness each year.

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Decompression Syndromes: The Bends - Experience

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Decompression Syndromes: The Bends

Chest Pain »

Chest Pain Overview

If you are having severe pain, crushing, squeezing, or pressure in your chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or if the pain moves into your neck, left shoulder, arm, or jaw, go immediately to a hospital emergency department. Do not drive yourself. Call 911 for emergency transport.

Chest pain is one of the most frightening symptoms a person can have. It is sometimes difficult even for a doctor or other medical professional to tell what is causing chest pain and whether it is life-threatening.

  • Any part of the chest can be the cause of the pain including the heart, lungs, esophagus, muscle, bone, and skin.

  • Because of the complex nerve distribution in the body, chest pain may actually originate from another part of the body.

  • The stomach or other organs in the belly (abdomen), for example, can cause chest pain.

Potentially life-threatening causes of c...

Read the Chest Pain article »


Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape

Decompression Sickness »

Although decompression sickness (DCS), a complex resulting from changed barometric pressure, includes high-altitude–related and aerospace-related events, this article focuses on decompression associated with the sudden decrease in pressures during underwater ascent, usually occurring during free or assisted dives.

Read More on Medscape Reference »

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