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Narcosis results from breathing gases under elevated pressure, and may be classified by the principal gas involved. The noble gases, except helium and probably neon, [2] as well as nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen cause a decrement in mental function, but their effect on psychomotor function (processes affecting the coordination of sensory or cognitive processes and motor activity) varies widely.
When inhaled at high partial pressures (more than about 4 bar, encountered at depths below about 30 metres in scuba diving), nitrogen begins to act as an anaesthetic agent, causing nitrogen narcosis. [5] [6] However, the minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) for nitrogen is not achieved until pressures of about 20 to 30 atm (bar) are attained. [7]
[17] [35] This is because nitrogen is five times more soluble in fat than in water, leading to greater amounts of total body dissolved nitrogen during time at pressure. Fat represents about 15–25 percent of a healthy adult's body, but stores about half of the total amount of nitrogen (about 1 litre) at normal pressures. [50]
A breathing gas is a mixture of gaseous chemical elements and compounds used for respiration. Air is the most common and only natural breathing gas. Other mixtures of gases, or pure oxygen, are also used in breathing equipment and enclosed habitats such as scuba equipment, surface supplied diving equipment, recompression chambers, high-altitude mountaineering, high-flying aircraft, submarines ...
Carbon dioxide narcosis, carbon dioxide retention leading to a reduction in the hypoxic drive; Hydrogen narcosis, an effect of diving deep with hydrogen; Nitrogen narcosis, an effect of diving deep with nitrogen; Unconsciousness induced by a narcotic drug; through anesthesia
The main reason for adding helium to the breathing mix is to reduce the proportions of nitrogen and oxygen below those of air, to allow the gas mix to be breathed safely on deep dives. [1] A lower proportion of nitrogen is required to reduce nitrogen narcosis and other physiological effects of the
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Although carbon dioxide (CO 2) is known to be more narcotic than nitrogen – a rise in end-tidal alveolar partial pressure of CO 2 of 10 millimetres of mercury (13 mbar) caused an impairment of both mental and psychomotor functions of approximately 10% – [5] [2] the effects of carbon dioxide retention are not considered in these calculations, as the concentration of CO 2 in the supplied ...