Venous gas emboli in normal and dehydrated rats following decompression from a saturation dive.

Introduction: Dehydration may increase the risk for decompression sickness (DCS). Since DCS most probably is caused by endogenous gas phase formation, we hypothesized that decompression will induce more venous gas emboli (VGE) in dehydrated rats compared to controls.

Methods: Two groups of rats were pressurized to 0.

Gas bubbles in rats after heliox saturation and different decompression steps and rates.

Effects of pressure reduction, decompression rate, and repeated exposure on venous gas bubble formation were determined in five groups (GI, GII, GIII, GIV, and GV) of conscious and freely moving rats in a heliox atmosphere. Bubbles were recorded with a Doppler ultrasound probe implanted around the inferior caval vein. Rats were held for 16 h at 0.