Even Sperm Whales Get the Bends MarineBio Marine Life Directory

URL:

http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/viewArticle.do?id=4...

Apr. 5, 2005 - It seemed only natural for deep-diving sperm whales to be immune from decompression illness, or the bends - the painful, sometimes fatal condition that human divers suffer when they surface too rapidly. But the whales may be as susceptible as land mammals, according to a new study by WHOI biologists.

Michael Moore and Greg Early examined bones from 16 sperm whale skeletons archived in several museums and detected telltale patches of dead bone (or osteonecrosis), which were most likely caused by nitrogen bubbles that form when divers decompress too rapidly.

Visit | Review | Rate (0) | 2009/08/20 | 155 visits

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