A physiological model of gas pockets in crevices and their behavior under compression
Journal
Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology
Journal Volume
152
Journal Issue
1
Pages
100-114
Date Issued
2006
Author(s)
Abstract
The formation of bubbles in the body from dissolved gases during decompression causes a range of symptoms, often referred to as Decompression Sickness. It is likely that these bubbles grow from pre-existing nuclei. It has been proposed that such nuclei are pockets of gas that are stabilized against collapse under raised pressure, such as that experienced by deep-sea divers. This work explores the stabilization of gas pockets in crevices, in its application to the nucleation of bubbles in blood vessels. A model has been derived to describe the dynamics of a bubble in a crevice, assuming that gases diffuse in and out of the bubble via the crevice wall from the body tissues surrounding the crevice. The time-varying behavior of the bubble has been examined and it has been shown that a crevice bubble can survive compression by temporary variations in the gas-liquid interface curvature or by shrinking, its behavior being found to be strongly dependent upon the model parameters. ? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Subjects
air
analytic method
article
blood vessel
decompression sickness
gas
gas diffusion
mathematical model
molecular dynamics
molecular model
priority journal
Animals
Atmospheric Pressure
Decompression
Gases
Humans
Mathematics
Models, Biological
SDGs
Type
journal article