Decompression sickness 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 be experienced in other depressurisation events such as emerging from a caisson, flying in an unpressurised aircraft at altitude, and extravehicular activity from spacecraft. DCS and arterial gas embolism are collectively referred to as decompression illness. Since bubbles can form in or migrate to any part of the body, DCS
Decompression practice The no decompression limit (NDL) or no stop time, is the interval that a diver may theoretically spend at a given depth without having to perform decompression stops. The NDL helps divers plan dives so that they can stay at a given depth and ascend without stopping while avoiding unacceptable risk of decompression sickness. The NDL is a theoretical time obtained by calculating inert gas uptake and release in the body, using a model such as the Bühlmann decompression algorithm. Although the science of calculating these limits has been refined over the last century, there is still much that is