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A pressure of 6.3 kPa—the Armstrong limit—is about 1/16 of the standard sea-level atmospheric pressure of 101.3 kilopascals (760 mmHg). At higher altitudes water vapour from ebullism will add to the decompression bubbles of nitrogen gas and cause the body tissues to swell up, though the tissues and the skin are strong enough not to burst ...
Hypobaric decompression is the reduction in ambient pressure below the normal range of sea level atmospheric pressure. Altitude decompression is hypobaric decompression which is the natural consequence of unprotected elevation to altitude, while other forms of hypobaric decompression are due to intentional or unintentional release of pressurization of a pressure suit or pressurized compartment ...
External causes include hypoxic environment, which could be caused by low ambient pressure or unsuitable breathing gas. [8] Both acute and chronic hypoxia and hypercapnia caused by respiratory dysfunction can produce neurological symptoms such as encephalopathy, seizures, headache, papilledema , and asterixis . [ 54 ]
Low partial pressure of oxygen in the lungs when switching from inhaled anesthesia to atmospheric air, due to the Fink effect, or diffusion hypoxia. Air depleted of oxygen has also proven fatal. In the past, anesthesia machines have malfunctioned, delivering low-oxygen gas mixtures to patients.
Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as 101,325 Pa (1,013.25 hPa ), which is equivalent to 1,013.25 millibars , [ 1 ] 760 mm Hg , 29.9212 inches Hg , or 14.696 psi . [ 2 ]
Total atmospheric pressure decreases as altitude increases, causing a lower partial pressure of oxygen, which is defined as hypobaric hypoxia. Oxygen remains at 20.9% of the total gas mixture, differing from hypoxic hypoxia , where the percentage of oxygen in the air (or blood) is decreased.
Dysbarism refers to medical conditions resulting from changes in ambient pressure. [1] Various activities are associated with pressure changes. Underwater diving is the most frequently cited example, but pressure changes also affect people who work in other pressurized environments (for example, caisson workers), and people who move between different altitudes.
The physics that affect the body in the sky or in space are different from the ground. For example, barometric pressure is different at different heights. At sea level barometric pressure is 760 mmHg; at 3,048 m above sea level, barometric pressure is 523 mmHg, and at 15,240 m, the barometric pressure is 87 mmHg.