Answer:
Explanation: Quick ascents can lead to decompression illness. During a dive, a diver’s body absorbs nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas compresses due to water pressure following Boyle’s Law, and slowly saturates his body tissues. If a diver ascends too quickly, the nitrogen gas in his body will expand at such a rate that he is unable to eliminate it efficiently, and the nitrogen will form small bubbles in his tissues. This is known as decompression sickness, and can be very painful, lead to tissue death, and even be life threatening. In a worst-case scenario, a diver who ascends quite rapidly may rupture small structures in his lungs known as alveoli. In this case, bubbles may enter his arterial circulation and travel through his body, eventually lodging in blood vessels and blocking blood flow. This sort of decompression illness is called an arterial gas embolism (AGE), and is very dangerous. A bubble may lodge in an artery feeding the spinal column, in the brain, or in a host of other areas, causing loss or impediment of function. Maintaining a slow ascent rate greatly reduces the risk of all forms of decompression illness.