the bends

Example Sentences

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In an archived version of the Navy's FAQ, the animals are praised, along with sea lions, for their resistance to pressure-change sickness known as "the bends" that can be detrimental to human divers when resurfacing.

From Salon • Jun. 30, 2023

At the end of each stint he spent 16 hours in a decompression chamber so he didn't get the bends - caused by bubbles forming in the blood.

From BBC • May 28, 2023

Mr. Keller used a new cocktail of gases intended to lessen the risks of the bends.

From Washington Post • Dec. 25, 2022

When divers rose to the surface too fast, they risked decompression sickness, also known as the bends, where the wrong gases build up in the blood.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 22, 2022

By 1910, some twenty thousand sponge divers were permanently disabled by the bends, and another ten thousand were killed.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler