Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 1 November 1974:
Vol. 186. no. 4162, pp. 443 - 444
DOI: 10.1126/science.186.4162.443
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Isobaric Bubble Growth: A Consequence of Altering Atmospheric Gas

Richard H. Strauss 1 and Thomas D. Kunkle 1

1 Department of Physiology, University of Hawaii School of Medicine, Honolulu 96822

During certain treatments of decompression sickness following dives made with compressed air, the U.S. Navy advocates breathing helium-oxygen mixtures. However, stable nitrogen bubbles created within gelatin by decompression have been found to enlarge when the atmosphere was switched from nitrogen to helium without changing ambient pressure. This suggests that decompression sickness would be worsened by switching from nitrogen to helium in the breathing gas mixture.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Observed bubble dynamics in oxygen or heliox breathing and altitude decompression sickness.
R. Arieli (2007)
J Appl Physiol 103, 737-738
   Full Text »    PDF »
Effect of combined recompression and air, oxygen, or heliox breathing on air bubbles in rat tissues.
O. Hyldegaard, D. Kerem, and Y. Melamed (2001)
J Appl Physiol 90, 1639-1647
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Venous gas bubbles: production by transient, deep isobaric counterdiffusion of helium against nitrogen.
B. D'Aoust, K. Smith, H. Swanson, R White, C. Harvey, W. Hunter, T. Neuman, and R. Goad (1977)
Science 197, 889-891
   Abstract »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)