Decompression sickness DCS, and there is some evidence that marine mammals such as cetaceans and seals may also be affected. AW Carlsen has suggested that the presence of a right-left shunt in the reptilian heart may account for the predisposition in the same way as a patent foramen ovale does in humans. Decompression sickness Decompression sickness (DCS; also known as divers' disease, the bends, aerobullosis, or caisson disease) describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurisation. DCS most commonly refers to problems arising from underwater diving decompression (i.e., during ascent), but may
Decompression sickness which were dissolved under higher pressure, to come out of physical solution and form gas bubbles within the body. These bubbles produce the symptoms of decompression sickness. Bubbles may form whenever the body experiences a reduction in pressure, but not all bubbles result in DCS. The amount of gas dissolved in a liquid is described by Henry's Law, which indicates that when the pressure of a gas in contact with a liquid is decreased, the amount of that gas dissolved in the liquid will also decrease proportionately. On ascent from a dive, inert gas comes out of solution in a