CAISSON'S DISEASE (DECOMPRESSION ILLNESS). Research Paper

CAISSON'S DISEASE (DECOMPRESSION ILLNESS)
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1.0 Background
The disease arises from diving underwater, causing depressurization conditions. Other activities such as flying at altitude in an unpressurized aircraft or spacecraft extravehicular actions lead to illness. The illness occurs when dissolved gases in water form bubbles which enter the human body. Its symptoms range from rashes, joint points, or paralysis. In severe cases, the illness can lead to death. The disease has now become rare due to modern decompression techniques, which ensures the safety of divers. What occurs is when a diver gets deeper into the water, their lungs compress, making it hard to breathe. The illness can arise from ascending an altitude or descending into the water, in the case of diving. Nitrogen is usually found dissolved in human blood. Normal atmospheric pressure often sustains it. However, when the average pressure is disrupted, such as going underwater or high altitudes, the dissolved nitrogen comes out in the form of gaseous bubbles. The occulation of small blood vessels causes pain in the bones and soft tissue. This pain later leads to shortness of breath.[Cooper, Jeffrey S., and Kenneth C. Hanson. "Decompression Sickness]
Caisson disease is commonly referred to as decompression illness. It was first discovered in the 19th century. The illness was observed in caisson workers who were in a compressed environment. After affecting those workers, the disease came to be known as caisson disease. The disease has since been commonly observed in astronauts, high-altitude pilots, and divers. The United States records over 900 cases annually relating to decompression illness. Today, steps have been taken to reduce the incidences of decompression illness. This includes minimizing the formation of bubbles through measures such as staging ascents or limiting the duration of dives. This procedure ensures divers have decompression stops that help in re-equilibration of tissue tensions.[. Ibid]
2.0 Physiological mechanisms of Decompression illness
Water pressure increases faster compared to air pressure. For every 33 feet of sea level, it increases by one atmospheric pressure. When a diver enters an area with high strength such as deep underwater, inert gases like nitrogen begin to accumulate in body tissues. The rate of absorption of these gases becomes particularly intense when the diver gets deeper into the sea. However, when the diver moves up the situation is reversed, the pressure and the rate of absorption decreases. As a result, the gases are released from the tissues. Notably, a diver doesn't just move instantly to remove the accumulation of the gas. Instead, the diver must run in a systematic and slow process to remove the gas in stages. For an orderly elimination of washout to occur, the process must be controlled. This situation allows the safe release of the gas However, if the decompression process is conducted rapidly, it may result in decompression illness.[. Vann, Richard D., Frank K. Butler, Simon J. Mitchell, and Richard E. Moon. "Decompression illness.]
The ambient pressure usually determines the concentration of these inert gases inside the human body. Ambient pressure here refer...