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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Commentary on Viewpoint "Heliox, nitrox, and trimix diving; hyperbaric oxygen treatment; and a flaw in Henry's law"

In human physiology, the involvement of other factors should be borne in mind. Indeed, respiratory gas exchanges, hemodynamic status, and the quality of regional perfusions influence the gas saturation of a living organism. Moreover, the metabolism (2) and diffusion of gases (5), i.e., diffusion in gaseous phase, alveolar barrier exchange, and tissular diffusion need to be taken into account. For example, the behavior of helium-nitrogen-oxygen mixtures under pressure is difficult to assess, because helium dissolution in tissues seems slower than that predicted from Henry's law, but on the other hand, this phenomenon is antagonized by the elevated diffusion capacity of helium. Finally, the decompression phenomena giving rise to bubbles, i.e., the notion of gas nuclei (3), is difficult to model. Although previous physical approaches helped prevent decompression sickness (4), we do not have a true description of physiological phenomena in vivo. Consequently, in attempts to improve decompression procedures, the mathematical models need to be combined with other methods such as circulating bubble detection (6) and epidemiological data of decompression sickness.

FOOTNOTES

Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: A. Boussuges, Naval Medical Institute (IMNSSA), 83800 Toulon Armees, France (e-mail: a.boussuges{at}imnssa.net)

REFERENCES

1. Arieli R. Heliox, nitrox, and trimix diving; hyperbaric oxygen treatment; and a flaw in Henry's law. J Appl Physiol. In press.
2. Behnke AR. Decompression sickness following exposure to high pressures. In: Decompression Sickness, edited by Fulton JF. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 1951, 53–89.
3. Blatteau JE, Souraud JB, Gempp E, Boussuges A. Gas nuclei, their origin and their role in bubble formation. Aviat Space Environ Med 77: 1068–1076, 2006.[Medline]
4. Boycott AE, Damant C, Haldane JS. The prevention of compressed air illness. J Hyg Cambridge 8: 342–344, 1908.
5. Hempleman HV. British decompression theory and practice. In: The Physiology and Medicine of Diving and Compressed Air Work, edited by Bennett PB, Eliott DH. London: Baillière, Tindall and Cassel, 1969, p. 291–318.
6. Spencer MP. Decompression limits for compressed air determined by ultrasonically detected blood bubbles. J Appl Physiol 40: 229–235, 1976.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Free Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Boussuges, A. Articles by Blatteau, J.-E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Boussuges, A. Articles by Blatteau, J.-E.