Journal article
Simulation of gas bubbles in hypobaric decompressions - Roles of O2, CO2, and H2O
Aviation, space, and environmental medicine, Vol.66(1), pp.50-55
01/01/1995
PMID: 7695552
Abstract
To gain insight into the special features of bubbles that may form in aviators and astronauts, we simulated the growth and decay of bubbles in two hypobaric decompressions and a hyperbaric one, all with the same tissue ratio (TR), where TR is defined as tissue PN2 before decompression divided by barometric pressure after. We used an equation system which is solved by numerical methods and accounts for simultaneous diffusion of any number of gases as well as other major determinants of bubble growth and absorption. Because physiological mechanisms keep the partial pressures of the metabolic gases nearly constant over a range of hypobaric pressures, their fractions in bubbles are inversely proportional to pressure and their large volumes at low pressure add to bubble size. When two different decompressions have the same TR, metabolic gases cause bubbles to grow larger at lower hypobaric pressures. We conclude that the constancy of partial pressures of metabolic gases affects bubble size in hypobaric decompressions in inverse relation to the exposure pressure. (Author)
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Simulation of gas bubbles in hypobaric decompressions - Roles of O2, CO2, and H2O
- Creators
- Hugh Van LiewMark Burkard
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Aviation, space, and environmental medicine, Vol.66(1), pp.50-55
- Publisher
- AEROSPACE MEDICAL ASSOC; ALEXANDRIA
- PMID
- 7695552
- ISSN
- 0095-6562
- eISSN
- 1943-4448
- Number of pages
- 6
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/1995
- Academic Unit
- Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984700651502771
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