What is decompression sickness?

Decompression sickness, often referred to as "the bends," occurs when a person ascends to lower pressure environments too quickly after being at high pressure, such as during deep-sea diving. The rapid decrease in pressure causes dissolved gases, primarily nitrogen, to come out of solution and form bubbles in the body. These bubbles can lead to various symptoms, including joint pain, dizziness, and even serious complications involving the central nervous system.

While high pressure is a contributing factor to the formation of decompression sickness, the crucial element is the sudden drop in pressure that triggers the condition. Therefore, the understanding of decompression sickness is fundamentally linked to the dynamics of pressure changes and how they affect gas solubility within the body.

The other options do not accurately capture this phenomenon. For example, a disease caused by high pressure, while it pertains to certain scenarios like barotrauma, doesn’t encompass the essence of decompression sickness's onset. Similarly, an allergic reaction to altitude is a mischaracterization, as altitude-related issues are typically related to hypoxia or altitude sickness, not decompression. Prolonged exposure to oxygen does not cause decompression sickness but can lead to different issues like oxygen toxicity, which is unrelated to the mechanics of gas exchange