A Theoretical Model for the Computation of Decompression Tables for Divers

Abstract

DISCUSSIONS on the mechanism of decompression sickness have been focused mainly on the saturation and desaturation of the tissues with inert gases. To assess the capacity of the organism to free itself of an abundance of inert gas, experimental methods have usually been applied. Thus it has been possible to define a limited number of nitrogen-elimination rates which are spoken of as representing different types of tissues. Such information is, however, of limited value for the estimation of the relative importance of a certain tissue fraction (in terms of half-saturation time) for the genesis of decompression sickness. In measurements of nitrogen elimination the volumetrically large tissue fractions dominate the picture in a degree which is not necessarily related to their importance as bends tissue.