Glossary
Decompression sickness
Illness from nitrogen bubbles forming after rapid ascent from depth.
Decompression sickness ("the bends") occurs when dissolved nitrogen forms bubbles in tissue after too-rapid ascent from diving. Recompression in a hyperbaric chamber is its definitive treatment — the origin of hyperbaric medicine.
More terms
Reperfusion injury
Tissue damage that occurs when blood flow returns after a period of oxygen loss.
Normobaric
At normal atmospheric pressure (1 ATA).
Henry's Law
The physical law explaining why pressure forces more oxygen into blood plasma.
HIF-1α
A cellular oxygen-sensing protein involved in healing signals.