This article focuses on the occurrence of decompression sickness in diving, air-breathing marine vertebrates and hypothesis for how this can be limited. Most deep diving vertebrates contain more available space for oxygen, and smaller-sized lungs. The popularly studied prediction scientists made was that the collapse of the alveolar led to a reduction in nitrogen intake. As seen in Figure 1, rapid decompression leads to an increase in nitrogen tension pressure and ultimately causes decompression sickness. The researchers reference a study involving loggerhead sea turtles and the onset of gas embolisms. These turtles have the ability to manage gases by utilizing the pulmonary artery. From this study, they propose a new hypothesis to limit nitrogen saturation; adaptations in vertebrates can lead to a pulmonary functional shunt that can control alveolar collapse and cardiac output.
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