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The term latent hypoxia strictly refers to the situation while the potential victim is at depth, still conscious, and not yet hypoxic, but is also loosely applied to the consequential blackout, which is a form of hypoxic blackout also referred to as blackout of ascent or deep water blackout, though deep water blackout is also used to refer to ...
Generalized hypoxia occurs when breathing mixtures of gases with a low oxygen content, e.g. while diving underwater especially when using closed-circuit rebreather systems that control the amount of oxygen in the supplied air, or when breathing gas mixtures blended to prevent oxygen toxicity at depths below about 60 m near or at the surface ...
Work of breathing is increased by increased density of the breathing gas, artifacts of the breathing apparatus, and hydrostatic pressure variations due to posture in the water. The underwater environment also affects sensory input, which can impact on safety and the ability to function effectively at depth.
When water-soluble gases such as anesthetic agent N 2 O (nitrous oxide) are breathed in large quantities they can be dissolved in body fluids rapidly. This leads to a temporary increase [ clarification needed ] in both the concentrations and partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the alveoli.
If the concentration of the inert gas in the breathing gas is reduced below that of any of the tissues, there will be a tendency for gas to return from the tissues to the breathing gas. This is known as outgassing, and occurs during decompression, when the reduction in ambient pressure or a change of breathing gas reduces the partial pressure ...
On ascent from a dive, inert gas comes out of solution in a process called "outgassing" or "offgassing". Under normal conditions, most offgassing occurs by gas exchange in the lungs . [ 9 ] [ 10 ] If inert gas comes out of solution too quickly to allow outgassing in the lungs then bubbles may form in the blood or within the solid tissues of the ...
A percentage of the gas we breathe (air) is always dissolved in our blood, like the gas dissolved in a carbonated drink bottle with the lid on. If a person moves to a higher ambient pressure, then the gas inhaled is at a higher pressure, so more of it dissolves in the blood and diffuses into body tissues (Henry's and Fick's gas laws). If they ...
Hypoventilation is not synonymous with respiratory arrest, in which breathing ceases entirely and death occurs within minutes due to hypoxia and leads rapidly into complete anoxia, although both are medical emergencies. Hypoventilation can be considered a precursor to hypoxia, and its lethality is attributed to hypoxia with carbon dioxide toxicity.