Decompression Sickness

Decompression sickness is a medical condition caused by dissolved gases emerging from solution as bubbles inside the body tissues during decompression. It most commonly occurs during or soon after a decompression ascent from underwater diving, but can also result from other causes of depressurization, such as emerging from a caisson, decompression from saturation, flying in an unpressurized aircraft at high altitude, or extravehicular activity from spacecraft. Decompression sickness and arterial gas embolism are collectively referred to as decompression illness.