Decompression sickness, or the bends, "is a condition that develops when an excess of nitrogen has dissolved in body fluids and comes out of solution as bubbles of gas when a diver surfaces." (p 28, Culliney and Crockett) Decompression sickness, although less serious than rupturing a lung, has, on occasion, been fatal. It brings intolerable pain and recurring bouts of the bends. Even when it is not severe it could progressively damage parts of the body, such as, the heart, brain, bones, and nerves.
To explain the cause of bends we need to combine Dalton's, Henry's, and Boyle's Laws.…
