a disorder characterized by severe pain in muscles and joints, cramp, and difficulty in breathing, caused by a sudden and sustained decrease in air pressure, resulting in the deposition of nitrogen bubbles in the tissues
Also called: caisson disease, aeroembolism. Nontechnical name: the bends
decompression sickness in American English
US
a condition caused by the formation of nitrogen bubbles in the blood or body tissuesas the result of a sudden lowering of atmospheric pressure, as in deep-sea divers, astronauts, and pilots ascending too quickly: it is characterized by tightness in the chest, by pains in the joints, and by convulsions and collapse in severe cases