bends

bends (bendz) pain in the limbs and abdomen due to rapid reduction of air pressure; see decompression sickness, under sickness.

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bends (bndz)

n.

See decompression sickness.

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bends

decompression sickness; a condition resulting from a too-rapid decrease in atmospheric pressure, as when a deep-sea diver is brought too hastily to the surface. The term bends is derived from the bodily contortions its victims undergo when atmospheric pressure is abruptly changed from a high pressure to a relatively lower one. A form of altitude sickness suffered by aviators who ascend too rapidly to high altitudes is similar to bends. Bends may also be a complication in a type of oxygen therapy called hyperbaric oxygenation, in which the patient is placed in a high-pressure chamber to increase the oxygen content of its blood. Likely to be an uncommon diagnosis in animals.