decompression /de·com·pres·sion/ (de″kom-presh´un) removal of pressure, especially from deep-sea divers and caisson workers to prevent bends, and from persons ascending to great heights.
Decompression
decompression
decompression [de″kom-presh´un]
decompression,
decompression
cardiac decompression decompression of heart.
cerebral decompression relief of intracranial pressure by removal of a skull flap and incision of the dura mater.
decompression of heart pericardiotomy with evacuation of a hematoma.
microvascular decompression a microsurgical procedure for relief of trigeminal neuralgia.
nerve decompression relief of pressure on a nerve by surgical removal of the constricting fibrous or bony tissue.
decompression of pericardium decompression of heart.
decompression of spinal cord surgical relief of pressure on the spinal cord, which may be due to hematoma, bone fragments, etc.
de·com·pres·sion (d  k m-pr sh n)n. 1. The relief of pressure on a body part by surgery. 2. The restoration of deep-sea divers and caisson workers to atmospheric pressure by means of a decompression chamber. |
Decompression
A decrease in pressure from the surrounding water that occurs with decreasing diving depth.
Mentioned in: Gas Embolism, Recompression Treatment
decompression
[dē′kəmpresh′ən]
Etymology: L, de + comprimere, to press together
1 a technique used to readapt an individual to normal atmospheric pressure after exposure to higher pressures, as in diving.
2 the removal of pressure caused by gas or fluid in a body cavity, such as the stomach or intestinal tract.
decompression [de″kom-presh´un]
return to normal environmental pressure after exposure to greatly increased pressure.
cerebral decompression removal of a flap of the skull and incision of the dura mater for relief of intracranial pressure.
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 popular 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. Called also caisson disease and divers' paralysis. A similar condition, altitude sickness, is suffered by aviators who ascend too rapidly to high altitudes. Decompression sickness 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 the blood. Personnel and the patient within the chamber must be protected from decompression sickness when they emerge from the high-pressure chamber.
Cause. The phenomenon of decompression sickness is explained in terms of a law of physics: The greater the atmospheric pressure, the greater the amount of gas that can be dissolved in a liquid. The gas involved in this condition is the air we breathe, composed chiefly of nitrogen and oxygen. Under normal atmospheric pressure, nitrogen is present in the blood in dissolved form. If the atmospheric pressure is substantially increased, a proportionately greater amount of nitrogen will be dissolved in the blood. The same is true of oxygen, and this is the basis for hyperbaric oxygenation in the treatment of oxygen deficiency.
The increase in pressure causes no ill effects. Nor will there be any ill effects if the pressure is gradually brought back to normal. When the decrease in pressure is slow, the nitrogen escapes safely from the blood as it passes through the lungs to be exhaled. If the pressure drops abruptly back to normal, the nitrogen is suddenly released from its state of solution in the blood and forms bubbles. Although the body is now under normal air pressure, expanding bubbles of nitrogen are present in the circulation and force their way into the capillaries, blocking the normal passage of the blood. This blockage (or air embolus) starves cells dependent on a constant supply of oxygen and other blood nutrients. Some of these cells may be nerve cells located in the limbs or in the spinal cord. When they are deprived of blood, an attack of decompression sickness occurs.
The oxygen in the blood reacts similarly when abnormal pressure is abruptly relieved. But because oxygen is dissolved more easily than nitrogen, and because some of the oxygen combines chemically with hemoglobin, the oxygen released in decompression forms fewer bubbles, and is therefore less troublesome.
The increase in pressure causes no ill effects. Nor will there be any ill effects if the pressure is gradually brought back to normal. When the decrease in pressure is slow, the nitrogen escapes safely from the blood as it passes through the lungs to be exhaled. If the pressure drops abruptly back to normal, the nitrogen is suddenly released from its state of solution in the blood and forms bubbles. Although the body is now under normal air pressure, expanding bubbles of nitrogen are present in the circulation and force their way into the capillaries, blocking the normal passage of the blood. This blockage (or air embolus) starves cells dependent on a constant supply of oxygen and other blood nutrients. Some of these cells may be nerve cells located in the limbs or in the spinal cord. When they are deprived of blood, an attack of decompression sickness occurs.
The oxygen in the blood reacts similarly when abnormal pressure is abruptly relieved. But because oxygen is dissolved more easily than nitrogen, and because some of the oxygen combines chemically with hemoglobin, the oxygen released in decompression forms fewer bubbles, and is therefore less troublesome.
Symptoms and Treatment. Symptoms include joint pain, dizziness, staggering, visual disturbances, dyspnea, and itching of the skin. Partial paralysis occurs in severe cases; collapse and insensibility are also possible. Only rarely is decompression sickness itself fatal, although a diver while in this condition may suffer a fatal accident unless he or she is rescued. Treatment consists of placing the victim in a decompression chamber where the air pressure is at the original higher level of pressure. If the victim is a diver, this is the pressure at the depth where he or she was working. Pressure in the chamber is then reduced to normal at a safe rate.
decompression,
n 1. a technique used to readapt an individual to normal atmospheric pressure after exposure to higher pressures, as in diving.
n 2. the removal of pressure caused by gas or fluid in a body cavity such as the stomach or intestinal tract.
n 2. the removal of pressure caused by gas or fluid in a body cavity such as the stomach or intestinal tract.
decompression, nerve,
n the release of pressure on a nerve trunk by surgical widening of the bony canal.
decompression
1. the return to normal environmental pressure after exposure to greatly increased pressure.
2. the artificial lowering of barometric pressure, e.g. to simulate high altitude.
cerebral decompression
removal of a flap of the skull and incision of the dura mater for the purpose of relieving intracranial pressure. Decompression can also be accomplished by the intravenous injection of hypertonic solutions, e.g. mannitol, usually accompanied by parenteral corticosteroids.
gastric decompression
by stomach tube or transperitoneal tap. An essential part of treatment for acute gastric dilatation in dogs and horses.
decompression
Medtalk The therapeutic reduction of pressure in a limited space–eg, in the cranial cavity caused by cerebral edema; pericardium 2º to effusion; an extremity due to an expanding hematoma over a fracture encased in a
cast. See Microvascular decompression.
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