Barotrauma: Trauma caused by rapid or extreme changes in air pressure, especially affecting enclosed cavities within the body such as the middle ear (otic barotrauma), the sinuses (sinus barotrauma), and the lungs (pulmonary barotrauma).
Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through the mouth or nose due to muscle contraction, and then exhaled due to muscle relaxation.
Carbon dioxide: A gas which is the byproduct of cellular metabolism and which collects in the tissues, is cleared from the tissues by the blood within the veins, is carried by the hemoglobin in the red blood cells, and removed from the body via the lungs in the exhaled air. Abbreviated CO2.
Decompression: 1. In general, the removal of pressure. 2. In surgery, a procedure to remove pressure on a structure, as in decompression of the spinal cord. 3. The lessening of atmospheric pressure on deep-sea divers returning to the surface, or on persons ascending to great heights.
Hyperbaric: Pertaining to gas pressures greater than 1 atmosphere* of pressure. Also pertaining to solutions that are more dense than the medium to which they are added. The term "hyperbaric" is
