Decompression illness

Decompression Illness (DCI) describes a range of symptoms arising from decompression of the body.

DCI can be caused by two different mechanisms, which result in overlapping sets of symptoms. The two mechanisms are:

In any situation which could cause decompression sickness, there is also potentially a risk of arterial gas embolism, and as many of the symptoms are common to both conditions, it may be difficult to distinguish between the two in the field.