bart@ucbvax.ARPA (Bart Miller) (10/17/84)
There might be some reasonable justfication for the statement that women are more succeptable to the bends then men. As we breath, nitrogen is carried in solution through our blood. Nitrogen is collected in various tissue. When the pressure is reduced (for a diver, when s/he surfaces; for an astronaut, when s/he enters the suit) you get a more rapid release of nitrogen. The standard anology is a Coke bottle -- when you open it (and release the pressure), the gas comes out of solution and bubbles form. If this happens to a person, and the bubbles get too large before they reach the lungs (and are expelled), the will gather in joints and other nooks and crannies. As the pressure reduces, the bubbles get bigger. You -- pardon the graphic detail -- get ripped apart from the inside out. So, different tissue releases nitrogen at different rates. Fat more slowly than muscle. So, fat people are more likely to bend then skinny people. Fortunately or unfortunately, women have a subcutaneous layer of fat not typically found in men. This extra fat could cause women to hold nitrogen longer than (thin) men. Thus, maybe the 18 vs 12 hours.
hobbit@sunybcs.UUCP (Thomas Pellitieri) (10/19/84)
In article <2585@ucbvax.ARPA> bart@ucbvax.UUCP (Bart Miller) writes: >There might be some reasonable justfication for the statement that women >are more succeptable to the bends then men. >..... >different tissue releases nitrogen at different rates. Fat more slowly >than muscle. So, fat people are more likely to bend then skinny people. Whoa! Fat release nitrogen slower so fat people are more likely to bend??!? I think that should be LESS likely! From the Comfy Table in the Hole of -The Parker Hobbit (a rather pudgy sort) -- decvax!sunybcs!hobbit or seismo!rochester!rocksvax!sunybcs!hobbit "'Once Upon a Time' should be in the future Storytellers keep it in the past Dreaming's what improves us, Motivates and moves us, You won't be my first love, but you might be my last!"
stevel@haddock.UUCP (10/23/84)
Since fat releases nitrogen slower it takes longer to get the
high level of nitrogen out of the system. Hence people with more
fat tissue are suseptable to the bends, the untimely release of
the stored nitrogen, for a longer time.
Steve Ludlum, decvax!yale-co!ima!stevel, {amd70|ihnp4!cbosgd}!ima!stevel
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